Vol. 573 No. 3
735 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if a contributory old age pension will be introduced which takes into consideration gaps in contribution records for those who had to emigrate to get work in the 1950s and 1960s, yet had reached the age of 66 prior to 6 April 1992, and do not have sufficient pre-1953 contributions to qualify for a full pre-1953 pension. [25176/03]
In order to qualify for an old age contributory pension a person must have, amongst other things, an average of at least ten contributions, paid or credited from 1953, or the date they entered insurance, whichever is the later, up to the end of the last complete contribution year before they reach pension age. The alternative yearly average test, introduced in 1992, provides that persons who reached pension age on or after 6 April of that year, can qualify for a maximum rate pension if they achieve a yearly average of 48 contributions from 1979 up to pension age.
In recent years, the Government has introduced a number of measures designed to make qualification for pensions easier for people with reduced or broken insurance records.
In 1997, the average yearly number of contributions required for a minimum pension was reduced from 20 contributions to ten. Pro rata pensions are also available for people with insurance contributions at different rates or from other EU countries or countries with whom Ireland has signed a bilateral agreement. In addition, special pensions were introduced for those with pre-53 contributions and for self employed who were already over 56 years of age in 1988 when compulsory insurance was introduced for that.
The measures introduced in recent years are designed to ensure that adequate recognition is given to all contributions while at the same time ensuring that payments are only made to those who have had a reasonable attachment to the social insurance fund throughout their working career. In the circumstances, there are no immediate plans at present for further easing of the qualifying conditions.
I am, however, reviewing the qualifying conditions generally for contributory pensions to see whether changes could be made in the system of determining eligibility which would relate the level of pension more closely in all cases to contributions paid. I hope to have this review completed by the end of the year.
