Vol. 508 No. 4
41 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the proposals, if any, he has to address the issue of the exclusion of pre-1953 contributions for qualification for pension rights in view of the deep concern of pending retirees. [18876/99]
As I am sure the Deputy is aware, prior to 1953 different types of contributions were payable – national health insurance, widow's and orphan's pension and unemployment insurance contributions – which gave specific entitlement only to the benefits of the schemes under which they were paid. The unified system of social insurance was introduced in 1953 and the first major extension to the range of contingencies covered came in 1961 with the introduction of the old age contributory pension scheme. While contributions paid prior to 1961 contained no pension element, it was decided to count all such contributions paid under the unified scheme towards qualification for the new pension. Special transitional arrangements were also made for people who were close to reaching pension age at that time, which permitted certain contributions paid before 1953 to be taken into account for satisfying the yearly average test.
In addition, provision was made for pre-1953 contributions, paid under the National Health Insurance Acts, to be taken into account for the purposes of satisfying two of the qualifying contribution conditions for the old age contributory pension, namely, that a person must, first, have entered insurance at least ten years before pension age and, second, have at least 156 contributions paid. This arrangement still applies. I have often stated my commitment to ensuring that contributory pension coverage is as widely available as possible and in this context the Department is examining, at my request, the issue of contributions paid prior to 1953 as part of a wider review of the contribution conditions applying to the old age contributory and retirement pensions. This review is nearing completion, but any change to the existing situation in relation to pre-1953 contributions would have to be carefully considered in the context of overall budgetary resources.
I am glad the Minister has commenced a review of this matter but I am disappointed we are essentially talking about costs. Most Deputies have been approached by senior citizens who are exasperated by the inability to count their pre-1953 contributions, with two groups in particular affected, which I will mention later. It is an increasingly arbitrary position for people reaching their later years so I ask the Minister to decide, arising from this review, that all stamps earned in a person's working life from the age of 16 will be counted.
I do not say this in an antagonistic way, but this position has existed since the old age pension was begun in 1961 and no changes have been made to alleviate the problem. Many representations are made about pre-1953 contributions but those contributions contained no pension element, they related to other contingencies. I am aware of difficulties on this issue, as are most Members. While the Deputy may be disappointed that it boils down to cost, I must state this is because it will cost money to give credit for pre-1953 contributions and that must be considered in weighing up priorities. Again not wishing to be antagonistic, should we look after this issue to the detriment of people with disabilities, carers, child benefit, etc. It is a matter of prioritising the various issues and coming up with solutions.
The Minister should stand up much more strongly to the Minister, Deputy McCreevy. There is a budget surplus of £2.5 billion so there is a good deal of money to allocate this year, if the Minister wants to deal with problems such as those faced by these senior citizens. Has the Department estimated the total number involved? Judging by Deputies' clinics, there is a considerable amount. Following from that, has the Department estimated how much it would cost if it was provided for in the next budget? The groups hardest hit by this issue include returned emigrants, who left in the 1950s and 1960s and spent a large part of their working life in the UK or US but find that many years of work here cannot be counted for contributory pension purposes. Those people who have returned to the land of their birth for their remaining years deserve special consideration. People who were sick through no fault of their own and were out of the workforce for considerable periods find it hard to make the contribution requirement and they too are denied this respite in their later years. There are many important things to do and we have heard the discussion about carers, but to provide justice for our senior citizens in their retirement, I urge the Minister to ensure that the next budget changes this requirement and allows people to count all their contributions as stamps from age 16.
We must proceed to Question No. 42.
I would like to have answered the Deputy but my battles with the Minister for Finance have been successful in the last two budgets. We had the all-time highest social welfare packages, one better than the other.
There are a lot of things to do. Tell that to the carers.
They accept that. There was a 40 per cent increase.
