Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's response, which is obviously a script from the Department of Social Protection, is not unfamiliar because we have heard it here several times previously. I could quote it by heart. It will give no comfort whatsoever to people who will be affected by this. Everybody knows, including the Minister and her colleagues, that a number of defined benefit pension schemes will close down. The longer the situation is left as it is, the more of them will close down, and the more of them that close down, the more current or active employees will be affected. Their pensions will be determined in a way that is manifestly unfair.

I put it to the Minister that the programme for Government states that the priority system will be changed. It is also on the legislative programme for this session that the current rules for the distribution of assets and the wind-up of defined benefit pension schemes will be changed. This has been promised by the Minister on no less than three occasions. However, we are now told that the Minister is reviewing the situation and thinking about it. We are told she is considering the options and looking at this and that. In the meantime, with every week that passes another defined benefit pension scheme closes down and employees are left at a disadvantage. Is the Government going to do anything to alleviate this injustice before it affects further thousands of employees who are just unlucky because they have not reached retirement age by the time their schemes are wound down?

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