Pension scheme ‘mistake’ costs E210m

THE cost of a pension scheme has risen to almost E210m - 13 times the original estimate - because the State did not take into account the large number of eligible Irish people living abroad.

Social Affairs Minister Mary Coughlan has admitted that her Department “seriously underestimated” the overall cost of the scheme, because many records were incomplete.

Fine Gael yesterday accused the Department of Social and Family Affairs of making a serious mistake, and said they were amazed it could make such an oversight.