Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----but merely to point out the obvious, that this is a complex problem which requires time to address properly. I am bringing proposals to Government to address the range of issues facing defined benefit schemes and the pension sector generally.

The funding standard was suspended by the previous Government when the economic crisis struck in order to allow employers and trustees assess and restructure their schemes. That is what the Government of which Deputy O'Dea was a member stated was the reason. Numerous measures have been introduced since then to assist schemes improve their funding position. Ultimately, it must be remembered that the regulatory structure is there to ensure members' benefits are protected and it is also important to note that the OECD report to which I referred described our minimum funding standard as "undemanding".

See this speech in context