Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister talks about the consequences of the wage agreement. Certainly, the consequences of the wage agreement affected existing workers, but those workers will one day be pensioners too and the index with their work and pay has been broken. Has the index with the Minister's pension and his rights and pay been broken or is that just for the fire fighters, council workers, gardaí, ESB workers and those who served the State for many years of their lives? Consider the systemic nature of how pensioners have been treated in both the public and private sectors. In the public sector, in particular, there was an impression that they all had gold-plated pensions. In fact, it is Ministers and former taoisigh who have gold-plated pensions, rather than the ordinary workers. However, they have been consistently scapegoated, with their pensions and pension rights reduced. A number of measures must be taken. The one in which the Minister can have a key role is unlocking that break in the index with current workers, whereby their pensions are severely suffering as a result.

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