Vol. 556 No. 2
10 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the recent report from the Equality Authority, Implementing Equality for Older People; her views on the main recommendations of this report; her plans to implement any of the recommendations of this report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19515/02]
The report of the Equality Authority, Implementing Equality for Older People, was published in June this year. It is very wide-ranging and contains recommendations in relation to the legal status of older people, the application of upper age limits for entitlement to services, policy making in relation to older people, work issues, income for older people, health and community services and education. As we all know, the demographics of our society are changing and in the future older people will comprise a much greater proportion of our overall population. In the circumstances, this report is very timely and to be welcomed.
The recommendations in the report which refer to my Department relate to the adequacy of and conditions for entitlement to pensions, the coverage of occupational pension schemes, issues relating to care allowances and respite care, transport needs of older people and the need for better information provision and greater consultation with older people and their organisations. The recommendations are either in the course of being implemented, covered by commitments in the Government programme or being considered within my Department. Substantial improvements have been made in rates of pension in recent years. The Government has set a target of €200 per week for pensions to be achieved by 2007. Issues relating to the conditions for entitlement to pension are being considered in the context of the second phase report of the review of the qualifying conditions for old age and retirement pensions which was initiated by my predecessor and is nearing completion. I expect to be bringing forward proposals in this regard during 2003.
I see it as an important priority to achieve an increase in occupational pension coverage and I am confident that the personal retirement savings accounts which I am launching in conjunction with the Pensions Board will increase coverage significantly and be of particular benefit to lower paid workers and those in part-time or contract employment. In relation to the issue of care, I will shortly be publishing a consultation document on the future financing of long-term care in Ireland which will provide useful information to enable this issue to be advanced. In the area of information provision, a range of initiatives have been taken. I refer in particular to the booklet, Entitlements for the Over-60s, prepared by Comhairle, which I am arranging to have issued to all of the Department's customers over 60 years of age. My Department has in place a wide range of consultation mechanisms involving older people, including customer panels to discuss older people's experience of the social welfare system.
I refer also to the commitment in the Government programme to removing disincentives for those of pension age who want to consider some form of employment. Facilitating greater workforce participation by older people in this way would be of great benefit for society and older people themselves. I am committed to developing and improving our services for older people in line with the recommendations in the report referred to in the question. The National Economic and Social Forum recently formed a project team to consider the conclusions of the report of the Equality Authority and the implementation of its recommendations. My Department is actively involved with the forum in this regard.
Does the Minister agree that older people are the group which has been least protected by equality legislation, and that the Government needs to ensure we have an equality provision for seniors in the Constitution? The Government needs to take this step because of the EU directive, operational from 2005, which will rightly ban all kinds of age discrimination in every aspect of our society. I know that constitutional protection is not the Minister's decision but that of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. She might, however, be part of the decision. I welcome what she said about flexible working and phased retirement, but is it not a key issue for her own administration to change pension entitlement if persons are to be allowed to draw a pension while continuing to work after 65 years of age, should they so desire? These are issues that urgently need to be teased out to ensure there is direct equality. I welcome the Minister's remarks, but we need a fundamental approach to all these problems, especially in the area of pensions.
I thank the Deputy for his comments. I appreciate that, given the demographic changes that will take place in this country over the coming years, active retirement and the support thereof will be very important. Participation in the workforce by older people will be equally important. When the social affairs committee is set up it will be my priority to investigate how this can be done. I look forward to proposals from the Deputy or anyone else. I will not take on a constitutional amendment in the context of equality and the elderly. However, the targeting of support networks for the elderly is most important. I will be taking on board in due course the issues outlined in the report.
I congratulate the Minister on the booklet for the over 60s. However, there is a problem in that these people are entitled to a different support mechanism towards restructuring their houses and so on. It is currently very difficult to obtain the different grants from health boards and county councils. I urge the Minister to work with her colleagues to ensure that sufficient funds are made available to make that booklet a reality. There is no point having a nice booklet if people who come to my office or the county council offices discover the goods cannot be delivered.
I do not know how to respond to that. I cannot answer for the Minister for the Environment and Local Government and the Minister for Health and Children. I had an opportunity to meet the staff who worked on the booklet. It is an excellent production and will be more than helpful to Members of the House. I am sure they received a copy of it. Perhaps the Deputy will refer the other issues to my colleagues.
