Vol. 425 No. 7
146 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the acute hardship and difficulties being experienced by pensioners who receive English pensions, who due to the currency difficulties are losing substantial amounts of money on a monthly basis; if he will have arrangements made to subsidise such losses until the financial situation is resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
People in receipt of pensions from the United Kingdom can experience gains or losses in £ Irish terms with changes in the UK/Irish exchange rate. The deterioration in the value of sterling in recent months has meant that the advantage previously enjoyed when the Irish pound was below parity with sterling, has been eroded.
A person in recipt of a UK Retirement Pension may also be entitled, if aged over 66, to an Old Age Non-Contributory Pension from my Department. The UK Pension, would count as means for this purpose converted to Irish pounds by reference to an average exchange rate used by my Department. A UK pensioner who is already in receipt of an Old Age Non-Contributory Pension and whose means have dropped as a result, is entitled to request a review of his or her means assessment.
People in receipt of UK pensions who are experiencing difficulty as a result of their income falling below the appropriate rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance for their family size, may contact the Community Welfare Officer at their local Health Centre.
The recent 10 per cent devaluation of the Irish punt will also have the effect of significantly increasing the value of pensions payable from the United Kingdom.
147 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will give details of the liaison arrangements his Department has with the UK Department of Health and Social Security and in particular the arrangements for speeding up responses regarding British National Insurance contribution records of Irish nationals who returned home and are seeking pensions or benefits; the interim arrangement, if any, in place for deciding pension entitlement where the UK authorities require, or take several months, tracing the UK contribution record of the person concerned; when a decision will be made on the application for a retirement pension of a person (details supplied) in Dubln 7; and whether, pending final clarification from the UK authorities, a reduced retirement pension will be granted in this case.
The European Community Regulations on social security prescribe the procedures to be followed by member states in dealing with claims to benefit or pensions made by persons who have worked in more than one member state. It is a principle stated in the Regulations that the member states shall co-operate in processing claims as if they were dealing with a claim under their own legislation.
When a claim for pension is made to my Department it is normal practice to examine entitlement to a pension based solely on the Irish insurance record initially. Where the Irish insurance record is insufficient to secure a pension, entitlement may be established by combining insurance from more than one State (usually the United Kingdom in the case of Irish applicants). Based on the proportion of contributions paid in each State, a pension known as a pro rata pension is awarded by one or — if there are sufficient contributions — each of the States involved (according to the rules applying in each State). Until all the details are available on the number of contributions paid in each State it is impossible to determine accurately entitlement in any of the particular States.
In cases involving aggregation of Irish and UK records for persons who lodge a claim in Ireland, my Department requests the UK Department of Social Security to supply the UK social insurance record. A copy of the person's Irish insurance record is sent to the UK Department at that time to assist in the processing of possible UK entitlement.
