Michael Ring
Ceist:313 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will compensate pensioners in receipt of English pensions who are affected by the exchange rate. [6275/96]
Vol. 463 No. 3
313 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will compensate pensioners in receipt of English pensions who are affected by the exchange rate. [6275/96]
Exchange rates can fluctuate frequently. In view of this and the fact that a considerable number of Irish non-contributory pensioners are in receipt of British pensions, it would not be practicable to reassess entitlement to old age non-contributory pension each time currency exchange rates move. A realistic approach for resolving this problem has, therefore, been adopted by my Department. When calculating means based on EU pensions, the Department employs an exchange rate mechanism which is used within the EU in relation to certain social security transactions between member states.