Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree and support this Bill. This Bill strengthens the rights of retired workers regarding their occupational pension schemes and covers issues arising from any proposed changes to these schemes after a worker has left the employment concerned and retired. The Bill does this by providing for retired workers' organisations to be consulted in the case of proposed changes to members' and pension schemes' entitlements and, further, to permit these organisations to take cases to the Workplace Relations Commission. The Bill also provides for the extending of the time to do this to six months from the date on which a dispute over proposed changes to pension entitlements has arisen, not the previous limit of six months from the time a member had retired from the workplace.

The Bill strengthens the ability of retired members to become members of the board of trustees. I fully support this provision. I also fully support the peaceful protesters outside the Dáil yesterday from the ESB, Bus Éireann and Coillte. Some Coillte employees are being greatly discriminated against in respect of their stamps A and B but I will concentrate now on the ESB. This company has been successful and profitable over the past ten years and more, with operating profits averaging €533 million per annum in that period. However, during this successful period, the ESB has consistently discriminated against pensioners, denied them a pension increase and pro ratarepresentation on the governing bodies of the ESB pension scheme. It has ignored their right to representation in discussions that would affect their future financial security. These former workers have been denied voting rights on issues affecting them as pensioners and the ESB has ignored the fact that pensioners represent 71% of the total pension scheme membership.

Correspondence with successive Governments has fallen on deaf ears. Governments have lacked the political will to initiate change, introduce proper legal protection for pensioners and give them the representation rights they have earned throughout their working lives. All they are asking for is their rights to defend their pension entitlements once they retire and to be consulted on any change that may affect their financial pension scheme and future financial security.

I ask Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party not to kick the can down the road on this issue, as they have done already. We will know what their response is tonight.

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