Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I am afraid I do not agree. Sadly, if we do not change tack, I imagine I will be proven right. There are problems with the Pensions Authority and with trustees taking decisions that members are not happy with, and there is a problem with having an appropriate investigation into some of the activities. The difficulty is that we are talking about people's retirement in their twilight years. It is very serious considering the sums of money involved. I do not understand why the Labour Court could not be opened up to people just as a trade union can negotiate therein for its members although some of the employees under discussion may not be in that trade union. Retiree groups such as the Retired Aviation Staff Association and other registered retired groups could do the same for pensioner groups. It is about having their voice heard on an ongoing process. I refer to circumstances where a company may be involved in broader discussions on issues other from pension-related issues and where the discussions become part of an industrial relations discussion also. There has to be a voice for those concerned in this regard. There would have to be a complete overhaul of the Pensions Authority, which people feel does not have any teeth in terms of delivering justice for people who have legitimate concerns. The IASS is a very good example of that in that, despite serious questions of investment irregularity having been raised, a decision was taken to allow pensioners' incomes to be cut rather than answer some of the points.

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