Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

This is another issue I have raised consistently with the Minister. One of those entitled to the TLAC terms is the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Perhaps the Minister might clarify when he was appointed and explain the turn of events. I understood he was appointed on the Minister's watch.

I have raised this issue in the past and was not talking about future postholders. The availability of added years and severance payments cannot be justified at any stage but particularly in the current economic climate. I want the Minister to fix this and he would do so if he was serious about public sector reform and ensuring equity. He told me previously that he could not go after these pensions because of their constitutional status and that he could not give retrospective effect to regulations. However, the Bill on public service pensions is being considered and it contains an enabling clause which will allow the Minister to alter pension arrangements and conditions retrospectively. The bottom line is that I want to the Minister to fix this issue not for future Secretaries General but for those in place currently, because those pension pots cannot be defended.

See this speech in context