Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The law requires that pension funds are managed and that trustees operate in such a way that decisions are made in the best interests of equitable outcomes for everyone involved in the scheme. It is not about increasing profits and the trustees of pension schemes do not operate on that basis. They operate on the basis of the interests of the current and future members of the scheme. It is not at all about increasing profits.

We have had experiences in recent years in particular, even though this is not new, where trade unions and employers have had to come together and consider what is in the best interests of maintaining jobs in the company and growing the company after what may have been a difficult set of circumstances. Those difficult negotiations have often involved changes to pension schemes. Sometimes a nuclear option has been facing a company, where the company will not be opening its doors the following week and, at other times, a nuclear option may be facing a pension fund, where the fund could effectively close because of a crisis that had hit it. Difficult decisions have had to be taken.

I believe the legislative response introduced by this Government is a fair response, taking into consideration everything we were required to do and the challenges facing many high profile pension arrangements in this country. It is always very difficult to accept that anybody would be negatively impacted by changes to a pension scheme. However, trustees, and ourselves, as legislators, have to take a broad view of this. For the reasons I outlined earlier, I cannot and do not think it appropriate to accept the amendments.

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