Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she plans to bring forward proposals to amend pension entitlements in order that women who had to leave work due to marriage could qualify for a pension in their own right regardless of their husband’s means. [18158/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The marriage bar was a legal requirement for women in the Irish civil service and some areas of the public service to retire from employment after marriage. While the legislation applied only to the civil and public sector, a similar policy was adopted by other sectors, such as the banking sector. The marriage bar for civil servants was removed from legislation in 1973.

The impact of the marriage bar on State Pension eligibility for many women varied depending on the sector they worked in and whether they returned to paid employment. Therefore, it is difficult to identify all those whose entitlement to State Pension was impacted by the marriage bar. It is also worth remembering that most civil and public servants recruited prior to 1995 are not entitled to the State Pension (Contributory) and would not have been entitled to it had they continued working as a civil or public servant, regardless of gender and marital status, due to the application of a modified PRSI rate.

The State Pension (Contributory) system currently gives significant recognition to those whose work history includes an extended period of time outside the paid workplace, often to raise families or in a full-time caring role. PRSI Credits, Homemaking Disregards and HomeCaring Periods recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculation of a payment rate. Since April 2019, State Pension (Contributory) applications are assessed under all possible methods with the most beneficial payment rate paid to the applicant.

In January of this year I introduced the Long Term Carers Contributions which allowed for those who provided full time care to incapacitated individuals to receive reckonable contributions for the time spent giving that care, provided they cared for at least 20 years. Those years do not need to be consecutive. Long Term Carers Contribution are considered the equivalent of paid contributions and can be used to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory).

Where a person reaches State Pension age and does not satisfy the conditions to qualify for a State Pensions (Contributory) or qualifies for less than the maximum rate, they may instead qualify for one of the following:

• The State Pension (Non-Contributory) which is a means-tested payment with a maximum payment of 95% of the State Pension (Contributory); or
• An increase for a qualified adult, amounting up to 90% of a full rate State Pension (Contributory) pension, where their spouse has a contributory pension;