The Government is committed to extending social insurance pension cover to as many categories as possible. In this regard a number of measures have been introduced in recent years which are making it easier for people to qualify for pensions. These measures are of particular benefit to women who may have less than complete social insurance records.
In 1997, the average number of contributions required for pension purposes was reduced to ten and in 2000 a special half rate pension was introduced based on pre-1953 insurance contributions. Pro ratapensions were also introduced to allow people with mixed rate insurance records to receive a payment.
The Government is also committed to increasing the payment for qualified adults who are aged 66 or over to the same level as the personal rate of the old age non-contributory pension. This process commenced in budget 2000 and a number of special increases have been granted since then. The rate of the qualified adult allowance on the contributory pension now stands at €121.50 per week which is about 84% of the maximum rate of the non-contributory pension.