A series of consultation negotiations between trade unions, employers, the government and other interest groups are due to take place over the coming months in a bid to resolve the current pension crisis.

More than 60 women in the Midlands have today been attending a special breast cancer clinic over fears they were wrongly given the all-clear.

THE Government is unlikely to have a concrete plan to tackle the growing pension time bomb in place until early 2009, it emerged yesterday.

The public is to be consulted on the country's future pension strategy.

It is unacceptable for the rights of parents and children to be determined by whether or not they live in a traditional married family unit, a lone parents’ support group said today.

The Pensions Board successfully prosecuted nine cases before the courts last year.

The new Minister for Social Affairs Martin Cullen is already coming under pressure.

Fianna Fáil has lashing out at Enda Kenny's election “contract”, stating that the Fine Gael leader has forgotten the country’s pensioners.

MANDATORY and quasi-mandatory pension provisions are to be considered to increase pension coverage of the population, according to Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan.

SSIA holders should continue saving by opening up a pension, Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan said today.

The Government has been called on to come up with new ideas to get people to invest in a pension.

The Mahon Tribunal said tonight that its inquiry will only cost €300m – one-third of the one billion euro bill suggested by Tánaiste Michael McDowell.

A ceremony will mark the opening of the 100th family resource centre today.

People who did not receive their full disability allowance because they were living in residential care are to have the balance restored, it was announced today.

The Government’s €139m Christmas welfare bonus will benefit 1.2 million weekly recipients, it emerged today.

The Government has no immediate plans to outlaw exorbitant interest rates charged by loan sharks, the Dáil heard today.

Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan is seeking to increase the take-up of welfare supports available to carers.

Twenty thousand Irish people are coming home every year as a result of our continued economic success.

Parents who are worried about meeting back to school clothing and footwear costs are being encouraged to apply for Government funding.

THE Government has admitted its lack of preparation before introducing a new pension payment system that consigned thousands of pensioners to a 14-week wait for their social welfare payments.

Fianna Fáil has said cracks will appear in the alternative government and its policies between now and the general election.

Thousands of single parents who work are to benefit from increases in social welfare payments, it emerged today.

Improvements for the country’s 33,000 full-time carers were announced today, with promises of more respite and grant increases.

MORE than 100,000 children have been removed from living in poverty over the past decade as a result of targeted Government action, the Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan claimed yesterday.

The Government is planning a crackdown on child benefit payments to ensure that EU migrant workers do not abuse their entitlements.

PAYE workers are getting a raw deal on their Defined Contributions (DC) pensions compared to the self-employed and company owners, according to a top pensions body.

THE Government has been urged to do more to help Ireland’s young carers.

THE Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan said yesterday he was confident the Government would deal with the question of mandatory pensions before the summer recess.

Trade unions and the Government are planning a new push this week to encourage more Irish workers to take out pensions.

More than 250,000 men, women and children have been lifted out of the poverty trap in the last decade, a Government minister claimed today.

Opening access to jobs, education and training is the key to helping people with disabilities reach their full potential, it was claimed today.

The Minister for Social Affairs has published a new Bill that will bring in a number of key reforms and improvements in welfare entitlements.

Almost €30,000 is to be ploughed into projects researching the needs of Irish emigrants living in the US, it was announced today.

ALMOST one million people will benefit directly from social welfare increases from New Year’s Day.

Irish emigrants seeking to return home must be aware they will face costs as well as benefits in their homecoming, Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan said today.

Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan has said the Government is considering giving more funding to immigrant support groups in an effort to help migrant workers settle in Ireland.

New proposals to tackle child poverty and aid lone parents are being advanced as a matter of urgency ahead of the upcoming Budget, the Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan said today.

The Government has put contingency plans in place to pay 800,000 welfare recipients their Christmas bonuses in case a looming postal strike goes ahead.

Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan today pledged to implement a plain English policy in his department.

Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan is due to announce details today of a plan to reduce the level of long-term unemployment in Ireland.

The Minister for Social Affairs has asked the National Pensions Board to examine the idea of giving older people the option of withdrawing from the workforce gradually instead of retiring at 66.

SIPTU officials are due to meet Minister for Social Affairs Seamus Brennan today to discuss the situation surrounding pensions in the construction sector.

People were encouraged to plan for their retirement today with the launch of a new online Pensions Calculator.

VULNERABLE fathers in Ireland are distrusted, misjudged and excluded from a full parenting role.