Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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995.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the pre-Budget 2025 submission to her Department by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development, and the Islands, and in particular to supplementary recommendation 41, which calls for each care-related credited contribution awarded while in receipt of carer’s benefit or carer’s allowance to have the same value and currency as a paid contribution and be considered as a qualifying contribution for the State pension (contributory) scheme; if she has raised or plans to raise this matter in pre-Budget 2025 discussions; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[35270/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The State Pension (Contributory) is funded from the Social Insurance Fund which in turn is funded by PRSI contributions paid. Qualification for the State Pension (Contributory) is based on a number of criteria, including a minimum of 520, or 10 years, qualifying social insurance contributions having been paid by the claimant.

The primary purpose of credited employment contributions is to protect the social insurance entitlement record of insured workers who are not in a position to make PRSI contributions. These credits may be used to increase the rate of State Pension (Contributory) payment a person could receive subject to the qualifying conditions.

This Government acknowledges the important role that carers play and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, once a person has met the minimum requirement of 520 paid contributions, the current State Pension (Contributory) system provides measures including PRSI credits, Homemaking Disregards and HomeCaring Periods to recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculation of a payment rate.

Despite these measures, some long-term carers of incapacitated dependents may still face barriers in accessing the State Pension (Contributory). They may, for example, have difficulty establishing the minimum number of 520 paid contributions.

I was very pleased that legislation to give effect to a number of important State Pension reforms was enacted last December. A key measure introduced under this legislation is enhanced State Pension provision for people who have been caring for incapacitated dependents for over 20 years.

Since January 2024, long-term carers contributions can be awarded to a person who has cared for an incapacitated person for a period of 20 years (1040 weeks) and these contributions can be used towards the calculation of their State Pension (Contributory) entitlement. This is done by attributing the equivalent of a paid contribution to long-term carers of incapacitated dependents to cover gaps in their contribution record. These long-term carers contributions will be treated the same as paid contributions for State Pension (Contributory) entitlement only and can, where there are gaps in paid contributions, be used to satisfy the minimum 520 qualifying contributions condition.

Any future changes to the long-term carers contributions would have to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context and also in the context of the sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.