The crisis in defined benefit pension schemes has been highlighted in a number of media outlets this morning. The Minister will be aware that 600,000 people are affected by the situation. If nothing changes and things continue as they are, many of them will get nothing, despite having paid into pension schemes all their lives, and many will get much less than they had anticipated and had been led to expect. What are the Government's plans or proposals to deal with the issue? It used to be the looming pension crisis; it is now the present pension crisis.

I thank Deputy O'Dea for raising this matter. This is an exceptionally serious matter to which there is no one overall solution. It is driven by the fact that people are living longer as well as the change in the investment environment that we are seeing and which is affecting bond yields. The response will vary by pension fund. There is clearly a need for heightened engagement between employers, employees and those benefitting from pension funds in respect of the level of contribution they may receive in the future. This week, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, met the chairman of the Pensions Authority, Mr. David Begg, to get a broader view of all of the issues faced by pension funds at the moment. This will allow Government to better and further understand the issue and the options that may be available to those pension holders.