Vol. 455 No. 1
123 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Social Welfare whether he intends to publish the report which was submitted by the Pensions Board to his Department early in 1995 which contained a detailed expert analysis of the feasibility of the overall provisions made in the Family Law Bill, 1994 for pension adjustment orders; and if the report will be published and made available for discussion purposes. [11620/95]
The report to which the Deputy refers was based on a report commissioned by the Pensions Board. Having received the report from the consultants, the Pensions Board consulted on a confidential basis through the board members with the organisations they represent.
After this process was completed they submitted a report on family law reform and pensions issues to me, which I forwarded to the Minister for Equality and Law Reform. Discussions are ongoing between the Pensions Board and officials of the Department of Equality and Law Reform with a view to addressing the issues raised in this report.
The Pensions Board has among its functions, as set down in the Pensions Act, 1990, that of advising the Minister on matters relating to pensions generally. The report it submitted to me in relation to the Family Law Bill was in this context and it is not normal practice to publish such advices. However, the 1994 annual report of the pensions board which was presented to me recently and made available to all Deputies and Senators, contains a detailed section which outlines the main conclusions contained in the report submitted to me.
