I raise an issue concerning pensions that has been brought up many times before and which the Taoiseach has given a commitment to sort out. The averaging of contributions made over a person's lifetime has left many hugely disadvantaged but particularly women who started work early in life and took a break in the middle. We know that this is a problem that needs to be dealt with and the Taoiseach made a commitment to deal with it. How does he intend to deal with it? Are we to revert back to the way it was prior to 2012 or, if not, has the Taoiseach some other scheme that he intends to put in place? When does he intend to do so? Most importantly, what is to happen for the people in the middle, those who made the same contribution as other citizens, yet who find them themselves with a lower pension? Citizens deserve to receive the same pension as others who made the same contribution.

What is proposed is a move towards a new approach called the total contributions approach. It involves taking the total number of contributions made through the course of someone's working life, whether it be 35 years, 40 years or 50 years, and the pension he or she receives will be linked with the number of contributions made, not when he or she made them. Obviously, any rule change will not be retrospective; it never is for any scheme of this nature. It is intended to have the new system in place by 2020.