Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ms Ross's statement makes specific reference to the pension scheme, which was spoken about earlier. She said the CIE group pension deficit is a key component of the weakness in the group financial position and that the accrued liabilities of the scheme had increased and exceeded the scheme's assets by €975 million at the end of 2020. I had a quick look back at the accounts for 2019. The scheme had a deficit of €547 million at the end of 2018. That increased by €230 million to €777 million in 2019 and reached €975 million in 2020 when it increased by approximately €200 million. There was a virtual doubling between 2018 and 2020. Why was there such a large increase over the relatively short period from 2018 to 2020?

The CIE proposal makes reference to the Labour Court recommendation proposed for the 1951 scheme. There are two schemes. One is a regular wages scheme and the other is the 1951 superannuation scheme. There are 7,500 staff in the regular wages scheme and 2,200 in the 1951 scheme. That is the sole basis for the development of a revised funding proposal for this scheme. The ballot on that is under way.

Why have we seen such a dramatic increase in the deficit in the two years from 2018 to 2020? Of the €428 million increase, €200 million arose in the past year alone. The deficit in the two schemes was made up of €240 million in the regular wages scheme and €237 million in the 1951 superannuation scheme. That was back in 2019. What are the figures for the end of 2020? I saw reports in RTÉ earlier in April that the trustees of the 1951 superannuation scheme were seeking a ruling in the High Court on funding the deficit in the scheme. Will Ms Ross comment on those reports?

I looked at the company balance sheet. Ms Ross referred to the weakness in it. At the end of 2019, net liabilities were €690 million. The provision for employee benefits was €777 million. If the benefits under the pension scheme were positive, there would be net assets in the company's overall consolidated balance sheet. Will Ms Ross deal with those particular matters, which appear to be significant? I am conscious of the employees involved as well as their pension security. Will Ms Ross give us an overall response in the round?