Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On 14 October the much anticipated budget for 2015 will be announced and rumours are rife about what will be cut. I voice the concerns of around 420,000 people who will learn next Tuesday whether their hard-earned savings will be taken from them again. I refer to those who contributed to a defined benefit pension scheme and who, since 2011, have been subject to a pension levy of 0.6%. A further 0.15% levy has been applied since last year's budget. This levy was originally to apply for four years to generate funds to create up to 100,000 jobs, among other things. The jobs are being created and the economy is improving, all of which is very welcome. The pension levy has served its purpose. Older people who were frugal and saved for their pensions were penalised and now deserve a break. The Government promised that the levy would be a temporary measure, so now is the time to show these people our appreciation for their help in steering the country from an economic and employment crisis. We must give something back. The levy was due to end this year but in the last budget it was extended and increased. If it continues indefinitely at a rate of 0.75%, the average fund will lose €36,400. If it is retained at 0.15%, workers will lose €9,500 on retirement. This cannot be allowed to happen any longer.

This morning I received another letter from a frustrated constituent in Dún Laoghaire:

I worked my whole life to build up a private pension fund just the same way I worked hard to own my own house and to contribute to private health insurance for the best part of 30 years. My wife and I are self-reliant. We save so we can spend. We don't have a penny of borrowings. I have never looked to the State for a penny and now, just as I come close to retirement age, I find €40,000 being stolen from my private property - a fund that is already diminished by the long-term underperformance of the pensions industry.

This is the reality for many who saved for private pensions. They are not the elite in this country but ordinary people who saved for old age. It seems we are punishing individuals who had the foresight to provide for old age, pay their taxes and prepare for retirement. These individuals paid their taxes through the difficult recession years of the 1980s and now they are being punished by another recession. They do not march in the streets or phone Joe Duffy but they are still treated badly. I know the Minister of State is a man of his word. The people put their confidence in Fine Gael to be true to its word. The pension levy has met its objectives and I urge the Minister of State to abolish it next week and allow these people to enjoy their hard-earned retirement years.

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