Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

The Minister does not seem to get the point here. This is not something she can wash her hands of and claim it is nothing to do with the State. The issue for the State is its failure to ensure adequate pension protection. Arising out of the Robbins case the Government is legally required to do that. Its failure to do that is exposing the State to legal action. A pensions expert recently said that members of direct benefit schemes enjoy all the protection of a chocolate fireguard and that the Minister's recent minor actions in this regard were the equivalent of adding a couple of marshmallows to that chocolate fireguard.

For the third time today I ask the Minister when she will take her responsibilities seriously in respect of pension provision. When will she take decisions arising from the protracted Green Paper process? When can we expect her to make a policy announcement?

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