asked the Minister for Finance if he will exempt old age pensions and Old IRA military service pensions for income tax purposes.

In principle all pensions are treated for income tax purposes as earned income and it would not be equitable to differentiate for tax purposes between pensions and other earnings or between different categories of pensions. Accordingly, I regret that it would not be feasible to give the exemption sought by the Deputy. However, I would like to emphasise that a pensioner whose sole income is a non-contributory old age pension would not incur liability to tax, having regard to the personal tax allowances available.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary agree that it is very unfair to an old age pensioner? I can quote a case where an old age pensioner had a job minding a dispensary and this brought him just within the income tax bracket and I was astonished to find that the old age pension was taxed. Old age pensioners should be exempt and so should Old IRA pensioners. That law should be changed. It is unfair.

A question, please.

It is not a non-contributory old age pension.

It is non-contributory.

As the Deputy knows, if we broadened the exemption we would have pensioners of the Defence Forces, national schoolteachers, Garda Síochána and perhaps Deputies seeking exemption.