Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I, together with my colleague, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter and I acknowledge the presence of Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. My position is simple. I thank the Minister of State for attending on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Varadkar. I would like the Minister, given the State's share in Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority, to request that the company and the trustees of the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme, IASS, include deferred members, that is, those who have retired but are not yet in receipt of their pensions, in any further negotiations towards resolving the pension deficit concerns. We understand negotiations are at an advanced stage but decisions are being made which are affecting the approximately 3,900 deferred members and they have had no input into the process. They feel their interests are not being represented in the process. Many of these deferred members were actively encouraged to take early retirement by management as recently as last year.

According to people to whom I have spoken and who have contacted me, they are facing a potential cut of 50% to 60% in their pension benefits as a result of proposals currently on the table. This is a massive cut for people. It must also be noted that it was compulsory for these members to pay into the superannuation scheme in the first place. It is also worth noting that many of these workers were then encouraged to take early retirement.

Will the Minister intervene and work with all the stakeholders involved to ensure the voice of the deferred members is heard? There is a basic issue of fairness at stake which needs to be addressed.

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