Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct. There have been problems with the pension fund for a very long time, for longer than I have been in office, and I am determined to ensure the issue is resolved under my watch. I want to make sure people receive their pensions and that we do not face disruption at the airports. I must also protect the taxpayer as any contribution from the companies into the pension fund is an indirect transfer of wealth from the taxpayer to the pensioners and the members of the pension fund, many of whom are better off than the average taxpayer. This must also be borne in mind. In the view of the Pensions Board it is a defined benefit pension fund and, as is the case with many other semi-State pension funds, the only way to address the problem is through the company putting in more and the beneficiaries accepting that they will not receive the benefits they had expected or that had been promised. That is how all other deficits such as this have been dealt with and I am sure that is where the solution will lie.

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