Unemployment, the ageing population, rising health costs and changing family structures pose major challenges for all European states, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, has told a conference in Dublin. He also said that he would be giving priority to a major report from the Irish Pensions Board which is due for release.
The report, details of which were published in The Irish Times on Monday, advocates that old age pensions should be raised from 27 per cent of the national average income to 34.5 per cent. This would represent an increase of £23 a week at current rates.
Developing social security systems had been one of the great achievements of the 20th century, Mr Ahern told the opening session of the International Social Security Association conference at Dublin Castle yesterday. Now European states had to find ways of maintaining adequate social security levels without undermining economic competitiveness.
In Ireland successive governments had used a number of employment-friendly policies to reduce unemployment. These included cutting PRSI contributions for the lower paid, providing family income supplement and back to work allowances, promoting employability through training and education.
Since 1992 the amount spent on active measures to combat unemployment had risen from one per cent of his department's budget to 16 per cent, Mr Ahern said.
"Our aim is to make work pay, especially for families. One of the fruits of these and other economic policies we have been pursuing is that the rate of unemployment in Ireland, which a few years ago was among the highest in the EU, is now well below the average. Our target is to reduce it to seven per cent by the year 2000."