Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to be able to make a statement on the Bill, essential legislation that will amend and extend the protections and rights of retired workers and certain representative associations in industrial relation matters. There are approximately 500,000 pensioners in the country and they are understandably very eager to see the legislation pass. This is not just about their rights, however, it is also about future generations, given that every worker will inevitably make the transition from current to former at some point in their lives. Pensioners are men and women who have given a life's work in our public, semi-State and private sectors. They are our mothers and fathers, our grandmothers and grandfathers and they have been given fewer rights to self-determine their incomes and livelihoods simply by virtue of their age.

We cannot expect generations to work hard and build a strong economy and society to the benefit of everyone, and then simply move the goalposts of what the fruit of that labour looks like. These people have worked hard all their lives with the intention of securing a firm pension and a stable retirement, only to find themselves precluded from making decisions that change the size and conditions of their pension funds. For many retirees, these pension funds are their sole form of income. That current workers can avail of the WRC services by filing a complaint or appeal about an industrial relations grievance, while pensioners cannot, is completely unacceptable. At present, only individual pensioners have access to any form of redress and that is only up to six months after they retire. The Bill will rectify this discrepancy and other anomalies in outdated legislation.

Occupational pensioners have up to now been completely at the mercy of changes made to their pension schemes, without an opportunity to sit at the decision-making table, an opportunity for self-representation in consultation procedures or an opportunity for recourse. This injustice is symptomatic of a wider cultural attitude of dismissiveness towards our ageing and elderly population. The elderly have, on more than one occasion, been first at the guillotine in the context of cost-cutting exercises relating to State services and welfare supports when austerity measures were cyclically introduced and the economy was struggling. That is totally unfair. There needs to be more balance between present and former workers' rights. We need to ensure retired workers will be respected to the same extent as current workers, even though their service has ended. The Bill is definitely a step in the right direction.

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