Madam, - In your "Head-to-Head" debate (December 8th ), Charles Larkin states that public sector pensions raise "issues of equity".
While Tasc (A Think-Tank on Action for Social Change) certainly agrees that equity must be at the heart of a reformed pension provision system, we do not believe that the answer is - as Mr Larkin implies - to cut public sector pensions.
Rather, the answer is to ensure that all workers, whether public or private sector, can look forward to a secure income in retirement.
Tasc has proposed increasing and universalising the social welfare pension - upon which, as Mr Larkin points out, over half of the Irish working population will have to rely - and funding the increase by standard-rating pension tax reliefs.
We have also proposed introducing a second-tier earnings-related social insurance pension. Together, the increased social welfare pension and the second-tier social insurance pension would provide workers with 50 per cent of their pre-retirement earnings up to a specified maximum.
Tasc's proposals were prepared in conjunction with the TCD Pension Policy Research Group and are available for download at www.tascnet.ie - Yours, etc,
PAULA CLANCY,
Director,
Tasc,
South Frederick Street,
Dublin 2.