Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 3 Jul 2024

I am happy to be back in the House for the final debate on this landmark legislation that represents the single biggest reform of the Irish pension system in the history of the State. I respectfully request the Ceann Comhairle to direct the clerk to make a correction of a typographical nature to the Bill, in this case the word "or" should be inserted after "to" and before "such".

I hereby direct the clerk to incorporate the change.

Amendments Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, 7 to 17, inclusive, 21 to 37, inclusive, 64 to 68, inclusive, 75, 76, 79, 82, 83, 85 and 87 are related and may be discussed together.

The first group of amendments are of a technical nature and were proposed in the Seanad for the purpose of drafting clarity and cohesion. The drafters in the Office of Parliamentary Counsel who having had some time since the publication of the Bill to review it and to conduct another thorough quality-assurance process on it, found a few things they thought could be improved.

A number of these amendments correct typographical errors. Some rephrase provisions for clarity. Some update incorrect cross references. Some provide clarifications of definitions and some simply reflect the stylistic preference of the drafters. These amendments have no material impact on the policy matters contained in the Bill, other than to help it operate more smoothly and coherently.

This group of amendments concerns the definition of "employer" and the amendments were proposed to address what was feared to be a potential gap in the definition where the contractual employer will not be the person paying emoluments. They also update the wording in a number of sections to ensure consistency of language across the Bill. Once again, these amendments were identified by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and none of them relate to substantive policy matters.

This group of amendments relate to the part of the Bill concerning any unclaimed balances of participants' funds and the transfer of these funds to the Dormant Accounts Fund. These amendments were proposed by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. None of them relates to substantive policy matters and are purely of a technical nature.

This group of amendments concerns Part 6, which relates to the provision of communications and services by the new authority to the AE participants. A number of the amendments relate to the processes applicable to how a communication is made to a participant, while the remainder relate to the provision of participants' annual statements. These amendments were proposed by the drafters to ensure the Bill will operate as intended when it is enacted. They are not policy driven but are, once again, of a technical nature.

If I might make a closing remark, I thank the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating the Bill in being reported back from the Seanad. I also thank Deputies for their contribution to the debate during its passage through the House. My thanks is also extended to my colleagues in government and, in particular, to the Minister, Deputy Pascal Donohoe, the former Minster, Deputy Michael McGrath, and those across the political spectrum for their support in getting the Bill to this point.

I pay a huge thank you to the staff in the Department of Social Protection. They have put a huge amount of effort and work into getting this Bill to where it is today and I really thank them for that.

I acknowledge the work the joint committee undertook in its pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Bill. The work of that committee was thorough and its deliberations helped to inform the drafting process that was undertaken afterwards.

The introduction of auto-enrolment has been a key priority for me since my appointment as Minister for Social Protection. I am delighted to finally have this Bill passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas. This is an historic moment as we set up a new retirement savings system for generations of Irish citizens to come. In this sense, it parallels the State pension system, whose seeds were first sown in 1908. Automatic enrolment is about sending a clear message to our workers, and in particular to the young workers of today, that we want them to be able to look forward to a secure financial future. As I have said before, long life is a blessing, not a burden. When implemented, automatic enrolment will ensure hard-working people are supported in building up savings for their retirement which they can enjoy on top of the State pension, thereby helping them to sustain a good standard of living in that phase of their lives.

I look forward to the Bill's signing by the President in the near future and the implementation of the system next year. It has taken nearly 30 years to get this far but we are here now.

I thank the Minister and her officials, the members of the Opposition and all those who have contributed to this very important legislation. I congratulate the Minister on having, after a long gestation period, brought it to final fruition. It is very disappointing she is speaking to a Chamber that is largely empty. One wonders why there are not more Members present for something which is of such fundamental importance, but the Minister and I and others have no control over that. Thank you all and congratulations to everyone involved.