Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The office became operational in autumn 2003. It is Government action that has led to a position where pension schemes are being investigated and the Deputy should not forget that. The level of the breaches in this area is coming out through the work of the Pensions Ombudsman. It is not true the Minister issued a weak press release. It is true that he has engaged with the construction unions to try to ensure we can deal with these issues. It was not today nor yesterday that the issue of breaches in CIF pensions arose. The issue has been around for years. People have worked on sites and their contributions were not credited or dealt with by members of the industry. It has been a long-term issue. Therefore, having stronger legislation, a Pensions Ombudsman and proper investigation of the operation of pension schemes are hugely beneficial.

The Minister has listened to the unions, which have the information. The ombudsman's research has also been helpful. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, has had meetings with the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to see how we can improve the scheme to ensure it is statutorily tight. As the Deputy said, there is legislation, but it has not worked for decades and that is part of the difficulty. The Pensions Board has also examined the matter.

There are more people working in the construction industry who are entitled to their benefits. They should be in a pensions scheme and should have their contributions credited. I am sure a significant number of people are in a scheme, but where they are not we must take corrective action. That is what is going on in the current discussions.

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