Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Deputy Calleary. There is a disastrous situation across the State regarding pensioners, and examples include Irish Airline Staff Superannuation, IASS, ESB Retired Staff Association and Tara Mines, which is close to my area. Section 50 supersedes the trustee deeds to which these workers signed up and in which they invested money over a long period of time. These people have no voice at the table and can be ignored, other than through their nominee trustee on the board of trustees. Often, the trustees from the company have a majority. Given that the workers have already lost money through the pension levy, and have also taken another hit, there must be a mechanism by which they can influence the negotiations around these pensions. Although there was no obligation on Tara Mines to produce an actuarial certificate until 2016, the trustees have taken the decision to create the actuarial certificate far in advance of the date in order to reduce their future exposure. While I commend the Minister on focusing on this in this area, we need to ensure workers who have paid into pension pots can on retirement, when they are vulnerable, receive their pensions and have a voice in the process.

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