Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am especially pleased to speak on this Bill and to support it. I thank Deputy Bríd Smith and all the organisations that worked on the Bill. There are many reasons to support the Bill but I will highlight two. First, this legislation would give a group of retired workers some rights when it comes to making decisions relating to their pensions. As one person who emailed me said, the Bill is not revolutionary but will go some way towards correcting a historical injustice to thousands of retired workers. It will give them a voice at the table. As she said, they are asking for a right to be consulted, a right to representation and a right to be at the table when decisions are taken about their pensions. These are very reasonable asks and, as my correspondent said, are not revolutionary.

The second reason I am especially pleased to get the opportunity to speak on the Bill is that this very same issue was raised with me when I was a Member of the European Parliament. Despite my tabling questions to the Commission and checking the legislation, there was and is no European legislation that would cover this situation specifically. Of course, one of the main reasons for that is that member states organise their own pension systems, and that is the case in the context of what we are speaking about today. While there is some European legislation that protects the rights of citizens if they move from one member state to another; while we have legislation that was enacted this year on what we call institutions for occupational retirement provision, IORP, schemes; and while I was really pleased to have an opportunity to have an influence on that legislation, on this issue I could do nothing. From a personal perspective, therefore, I am pleased Deputy Bríd Smith has brought forward this legislation, which seeks to address this specific issue and I am delighted to get an opportunity to speak to it.

An astonishing number of people have had their legitimate expectations whipped from under their noses and they stand powerless because they have no say and no way of influencing or making any changes. That is wrong, and this Bill sets out to right that wrong. I see the Government is not opposing it. That is positive and shows that this legislation is needed and that a historic injustice needs to be addressed. However, 12 months is far too long because this situation has pertained for far too long, with some workers having seen a reduction of over 20% to their pensions, some seeing their pensions frozen for 14 years. This is an urgent matter and needs to be dealt with urgently. It is a fairly simple, straightforward proposal and, like any proposal, could benefit from amendments, but that is not an issue. What we want to see is that pensioners can get their rights and that as citizens - they are no longer workers - they cannot be subject to unilateral action on their pensions where they have no voice and no say. As I said, while I accept the Government is not opposed to this legislation, if a situation is wrong and discriminatory, then kicking the can down the road will make it worse. Action is needed now.

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