Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----or maybe it was the case that he came in with preprepared ideas in the context of what he was going to say. I very clearly said that following on from the commitment given to his colleague on the floor of the convention centre, we would explore the issue to see if we could help. We fundamentally disagree with the Bill because it would change the relationship of industrial relations discussions and negotiations and bring in a third party that is not still working for an employer. We disagree on that, and it will not change because, to be honest, I cannot see how we could facilitate it. I informed the Deputy's colleague that I would engage with her. On foot of the Bill and the arguments she made in respect of it, we met some of the groups involved and we said we would have a public consultation. That is now over, and the submissions have come in. They are available to Deputy Paul Murphy and to anybody else to look at and to tease through.

We have engaged with other Departments, which are also looking at those submissions to see if any change could be made to strengthen the position of retirees and pensioners. It might not be for my Department to take the lead because it does not fall to us to do this. While I understand what is required to be addressed, we might not be able to solve it within the Department and we might have to work with other Departments as well. In the context of any changes to pension benefits payable from a scheme, the trustees of that scheme are required to notify members, beneficiaries and authorised trade unions. Changes made to the occupational pension scheme regulations 2015 require trustees to also notify groups representing the interests of pensioners and deferred scheme members of these situations. That gives them the opportunity to have their say at that stage but I understand from the groups that they do not feel that is enough. I am sorry, but this is a complicated matter.

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