Page 75 of the programme for Government commits to:

Examine options for a pension solution for carers the majority of whom are women, particularly those of incapacitated children in recognition of the enormous value of the work carried out by them.

They do Trojan work and make great sacrifices. However, many carers cannot afford to set money aside for a pension fund. I welcome the fact that a pension solution has been committed to in the programme for Government, but we need to see those words turned into actions. With that in mind, will the Tánaiste outline what the current status of the pension solution for carers is and when it is likely to be introduced?

We want to find a pension solution for carers. Everyone in this House knows the value of the work carers do and we want to make sure they have a pension in their retirement. We appreciate there are many different types of carers: there are family carers, people who care for people who are not members of their family, carers who are in receipt of carer's allowance and carers who are not in receipt of carer's allowance. It is not an homogenous group by any means so there cannot be an homogenous solution. Some have a pension and others do not. That is why we have to look at all the complexities of this. One potential solution would be to allow people in receipt of carer's allowance to make a contribution to the State contributory pension. That is one potential solution. It requires a bit of work but we are committed to doing it.