Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Nether of our proposals complied with it, but one can extrapolate from the data the eventualities of this, that and the other. I have said that what the Minister has put forward is better than the existing model. However, it does not go far enough or as far as the Minister originally suggested in October 2011 when she said the issue would be dealt with. She could have gone much further to ensure equality or fairness across the board. She mentioned the Attorney General's advice. It is always a pity when advice is quoted that we do not have access to it. I know there is Cabinet confidentiality, but it would be helpful if the issue was considered in the future. If one is being quoted legal advice, it is nice to see it in order that one can agree or disagree with it, challenge it or show it to one's legal advisers to see if they have a different opinion because the Attorney General is not always correct. Part of the advice is that one does not always put a cap on the amounts that can come out of a pension. Amendment No. 21 in my name proposes a cap. In the case of a distressed pension fund, where not all of the money expected will be distributed, this would ensure nobody would get over the odds and that everybody would get as much as those at the lower end as possible. If, at the end of all the distributions in the order of priorities, there is money left to give those over €60,000 their funding, one might distribute it. If that were the case, it would mean that the fund was very near the figure of 80% or 90%. Having a cap would send the message that those at the lower end of a pension fund would be protected.

I will not repeat the earlier arguments I made on Committee Stage, albeit that it is a pity the information is not available for the public to view. Some of the arguments I made on the Mercer report should be exercised again and we should have that discussion about the risk of leaving active and deferred members at a loss over and above some of those who have a much higher pension, over €60,000, which some call gilt-edged or gold-plated pensions. The Minister has made an order. Some of the steps should be introduced at an earlier stage.

I will leave it at that because other Deputies want to speak.

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