Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to highlight an issue that many people mistakenly believe has been solved. Sadly, it has not, and that is why I feel the need to raise it on the floor of the Dáil. People will be well aware of the Waterford Crystal pensions issue. The factory was the pride of Waterford and it was shut down very suddenly. Scenes from the grey days of the closure were carried on the news and are burnt into the memory of every person in Waterford. There is not a family in Waterford that has not been affected. This is a very difficult time for everybody.

My colleague, the former MEP Proinsias De Rossa, was one of the people who from the very early days supported the former workers in pointing out that they might have a case to bring in respect of their pensions after the double insolvency of the company. As we know, the case was fought by this State and brought to the European Court of Justice before being sent to the Irish courts for settlement. As a Waterford Deputy, I believe the route that was taken was a very difficult one. It brought me no pleasure to see the case being fought in the court system. However, I have done my very best to support the workers as best I could. I have set up meetings and kept in close contact with the former workers and Unite all along the way. Much of the work has been behind the scenes. I have been fighting the corner of the former workers at every opportunity presented to me, be it in regard to PRSI reimbursement or the outcome agreed. I thank the Labour Relations Commission, Mr. Kieran Mulvey, Unite and the Department of Social Protection for brokering the conclusion on the deal.

What makes me raise this issue, however, brings me no pleasure, although there have been some very positive developments in the Waterford Crystal pensions case in the past year, with a sum of €182 million agreed as compensation after the company and its pension scheme went into insolvency. The agreement was announced last December. Included in the settlement was a lump-sum payment of approximately €45 million. It has taken a while, and there have been many ups and downs on the journey, but I am very happy to see that during the summer months, to the considerable relief of the workers and their families, they received their lump-sum payments. However, two issues arise and I will not go back to Waterford this week until I have an answer in respect of both. People are sick of ringing my office and the Department only to have no information forthcoming. I spoke to a man this morning who said he had paid his dues for 42 years and was not asking for anything to which was not entitled. Of the 1,774 claimants in the case, the number of pensioners is actually quite small. What I want to know is when these pensioners will get their payment. The people who have turned 66 are entitled to their pensions and are still waiting for this matter to be sorted. I demand to know what the delay is. Have the pensioners not been waiting long enough? I have been trying to get answers for weeks, to no avail. I acknowledge that the staff of the Department of Social Protection have been brilliant, particularly the team led by Mr. Liam Daly in the offices on the Cork Road in Waterford, but we need to get this sorted. The request is simple.

The second question, which is very emotive, requires an answer. Since the pension case was put in train, 44 people have died. I refer to the issue of the deceased workers and their families. One man, Mr. Tommy Allen, whom the Tánaiste met, received his lump sum in recent weeks, one week before he sadly passed away. He is but one of 44 who are deceased. The terms of the settlement that was agreed and announced last December are such that the families of the deceased are to receive their entitlements. However, there seems to be a delay here also. I want answers on this.

In many cases the relatives of the deceased are in their 80s. Not only are they trying to cope with losing a beloved family member but also they do not have the wherewithal to keep chasing down what is rightfully theirs.

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