Social welfare pensions will rise to €300 a week within the lifetime of this Government, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has reiterated in the Dáil.
He was questioned by Labour leader Eamon Gilmore about the Government's pre-election promises to increase the pension, which would cost €2 billion a year, and drop the PRSI rate from 4 per cent to 2 per cent.
Mr Ahern said "10 years ago, when I took over as Taoiseach, the pension was €70 and we have brought it to €200. As we promised, we will bring it to €300 in the lifetime of this Government. On the issue of our tax commitments we intend to implement our policies over the five-year period as we have done in the past two governments."
During leaders' questions Mr Gilmore said the Government had promised before the election to cut 2 per cent off the PRSI rate. "When that promise was made the Government had in its possession an actuarial review of the social insurance fund," that "showed that the social insurance fund would begin to go into deficit in 2010, in three years' time" and that the shortfall could be as high as €12 billion by 2016. The Labour leader said the Government refused to publish the actuarial review before the election but it was published last week.
Mr Ahern said the Government had set out its position in the Green Paper on pensions and had had discussions with the social partners. The issue had been opened to wider debate and "in the next nine months or so based on that debate we will make the decision" about the social fund in the short and long term.
He said it was quite clear the figures in the Green Paper "will have a huge effect on the social area". He said that given the more than doubling of the population aged over 65 between now and 2050 to 28 per cent, spending on "public pensions, social welfare and public service is projected to increased from 5 per cent of GDP to 13 per cent". This would have a "fundamental effect" on the social insurance fund in the long term.
Mr Gilmore pressed the Taoiseach as to whether he would reduce the PRSI rate by 2 per cent. Mr Ahern replied: "I said we would implement our tax policies but do not ask me to give details of the Budget."
