Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I will focus my remarks on amendment No. 37, which proposes to delete section 47. While most people understood that the Bill exclusively deals with new entrants to the public service, section 47 enables the Minister to change current public service pension schemes to reflect the consumer price index, CPI. This is not a matter we have discussed on Second Stage or Committee Stage, although I acknowledge that the Minister referred to it in his Second Stage speech. I have consulted public sector unions on this section and found that they were not fully tuned into it. That may not be the Minister's fault.

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