Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

We all know about the existence of a pensions time bomb. It is crucial we do not discourage people from investing in pensions, even though there is a need for a radical overhaul of the pensions system. I remember temporary measures such as the AIB and the insurance levy introduced in the 1970s or early 1980s and if I am not mistaken it might be still there. I acknowledge the levy will be in place for a set number of years but these kinds of charges have a habit of being extended once there is some level of acceptance.

I support Deputy Healy's amendment No. 37. I had hoped that any legislation from this new Government would signal a change in the way things were done and a change in culture. We saw too much of the outsourcing of decision-making in the past, with an element of self-regulation in everything from alcohol advertising to financial services and this levy falls into the same category. We need to do things differently if that culture is to be changed and legislation should be used to set parameters. We should be prescriptive about where the fund will come from and that should certainly not be from the savings of those who have invested in pensions but rather from the exorbitant fees charged on those pensions. Amendment No. 37 is good and I support it.

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