Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

I believe the Taoiseach is not fully aware of the situation which has been brought out by recent reports and the ombudsman. The Pensions Ombudsman says that construction companies which criminally neglect pension obligations to workers have a 22% commercial advantage over compliant builders. The reality seems to be that the neoliberal obsession driven by the Government is leading to outright criminality.

I reckon that a minimum €120 million a year is being stolen by big developers from workers' pension entitlements, but not one of them has faced any serious rigour of the law. However, in Carlow District Court in 2004, an unfortunate recipient of unemployment assistance to the tune of under €3,000 was sent to jail for six months for falsely claiming assistance.

What has been the contribution of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs? He brought out a weak press statement a few months ago. He agonises continually about a new mandatory pension scheme, but we have one, that should be underpinned by law, of which the bosses are in blatant breach. What is he doing about the situation? A weak press statement is hardly an answer.

The Government has turned a blind eye because, among the 12 developers who have become billionaires as a result of Government policies and among the hundreds who sit down with the Taoiseach at Cairde Fianna Fáil fundraising bashes are these very criminals who deny workers their pension rights. That is the reason the Taoiseach is soft on them. I and the Independent colleagues beside me will return to this issue in a few months. If tens of thousands more construction workers are not on pension schemes then, we will want to know why.

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