Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

Is it not the case that the pensions area is yet another in which the Government failed to regulate or address the underfunding issue during the boom? We are now paying the price in so far as no policy is in place and no action has been taken in recent years.

Some 500,000 people depend on defined benefit pension schemes, the majority of which are underfunded. This is the Minister's responsibility. The Green Paper on Pensions was published 18 months ago, but we still do not know her thoughts on it. What is the extent of the overall shortfall in funding in defined benefit schemes, what actions does she propose to take and how will she avoid exposing the State to substantial claims over defined benefit schemes in insolvent companies, for example, Waterford Crystal? Its workers made a proposal to deal with the pensions shortfall, but she rejected it and has consequently exposed the State to serious claims arising from the Robbins judgment in the European Court of Justice.

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