Over 380 submissions from organisations and members of the public were made during a public consultation process on pensions in Ireland.
Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin today published the report on the consultation process for the Green Paper on Pensions, which she said would assist the Government in developing a long-term framework for pensions.
She said it sets out the many issues raised in over 380 submissions made since the publication of the Green Paper in October 2007.
It also summarises proceedings at a major pensions conference in Dublin Castle in May 2008, and the six regional public consultation seminars held earlier in the year.
Key issues that emerged during the consultation process included options for reform of the pensions process, the operation of pension tax incentives, retirement age, eligibility for State pension, security of pension benefits and public sector pensions.
Some 322 of the 380 submissions received were from individual members of the public. The remainder were from organisations, including trades unions, farming organisations, the Central Statistics Office, Age Action Ireland, the Financial Regulator and the Pensions Ombudsman.
"While it is clear from the report that there is very little consensus on the future direction that Ireland's pension policy will take, the report summarises some of the key areas that are of concern to people," Ms Hanafin said.
She said the "generous response" to the Green Paper showed that pensions were a priority issue for people in this country.
Ms Hanafin said the Government remained committed to producing a long-term pensions framework by the end of this year.
"In doing so, we will need to strike a difficult balance between fairness, adequacy and sustainability," she said.