Vol. 546 No. 3
287 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the stage of the review of the homemaker's scheme; his plans to extend this scheme for homemakers who are not eligible for pension even though they had to give up their jobs compulsorily and become full-time homemakers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31411/01]
The Government is committed to extending pension cover to as many people as possible. In recent years more flexibility has been introduced into the qualifying conditions for the old age contributory pension scheme, including a reduction in the average number of contributions required for a minimum pension to ten, the introduction of pro-rata pensions for those with mixed rate insurance records and the special pension for those with pre-1953 insurance contributions. These measures are of benefit to many women who have gaps in their PRSI records due to working in the home looking after children, or caring full-time for an elderly or incapacitated person.
The homemaker's scheme was introduced in 1994 and allows for periods spent out of the workforce caring for children or sick relatives to be disregarded when a person's contribution record is being averaged for pension purposes. This scheme is at present being reviewed as part of an overall review of the qualifying conditions for the old age contributory and retirement pension, the first phase of which was published in August 2000. I understand the second phase report is almost completed and I expect to be in a position to publish it early in the new year. Changes to the homemaker's scheme will be considered in the context of the findings of the phase two report.
