Some 501,400 employees in the State - about 46 per cent of the labour force -

are covered by 50,551 registered pension schemes, the Pensions Board said yesterday. Publishing its annual report for 1996, the board said it had registered 6,907 new pension schemes last year, but most of these were custom-

made schemes for individuals.

The board also investigated 155 cases of non-compliance with the Pensions

Act, and in one case - that of the Cork Master Butchers' scheme - prosecuted the trustees in court.

The directors also promised to press ahead with the compilation of a report to the Government, due by the end of this year, recommending long-term changes in the private and the State pension systems, with the aim of covering more people.

The chairman of the board, Mr Eamonn Heffernan, and its chief executive, Ms

Anne Maher, said the Republic was fortunate not to be facing "age shock", or a significant growth in the number of elderly people, for about another 30 years.

This allowed time to consider the options, and get the final decision right.

"Among the key issues being examined under the policy programme are the possible need for a pensions ombudsman, the possibility of a compensation fund,"

said Ms Maher.

She said the board was committed to finalising its report to the Government by the end of the year.

Mr Heffernan said that in making its recommendations to the Government, every aspect of pensions, from the tax environment to the level of the State pension, would be considered. Part of the board's job was to stimulate debate about the issue and heighten awareness of the numbers not covered by private schemes.

Currently, only 52 per cent of employees have private pensions, and just 27

per cent of the self-employed are covered.

A recent report by the ESRI showed further large gaps in the pensions net.

Just 10 per cent of part-time or temporary staff have pension schemes, and only

16 per cent of those who work for small firms are covered. Women are significantly less likely to be covered than men.

The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, said the

Government saw the initiative as being vital to the future development of pensions.

"It is not a report, I assure you, that is going to be left on some dusty shelf," he added.

Mr Heffernan said that during 1996, the Pensions (Amendment) Act was introduced, and included statutory rules on compulsory and voluntary "whistle-

blowing".

"These provisions now place a mandatory requirement on a range of specified persons involved in the operation of pension schemes to report suspected fraud or material misappropriation," he added.

To the end of 1996, Mr Heffernan said, the board had received three such reports, all under the voluntary, rather than mandatory, whistle-blowing clauses.

"One case has been referred to the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, while the other two are still under investigation by the board," he said.

So far this year, he said, the board had received a further two complaints from such sources.