Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said, serious concerns with the Bill were raised by my predecessor, and those concerns remain. While we are sympathetic to the plight and the case of the individuals who have been involved in drafting the Bill, many of whom I met as both a Senator and a Deputy, whether because they are my constituents or because they are members of other representative groups, there are several serious concerns with the legislation from the Government’s point of view. I touched on some of them in my initial response but I might highlight a few more. At present, the WRC negotiation mechanism works on a voluntary basis whereby parties come to the commission to resolve industrial disputes to their mutual benefit. It is not clear what would motivate an employer to attend such negotiations in this category.

It is also concerning that the entitlement of retired persons to engage in collective bargaining with employers would be a considerable disincentive to employers to offer voluntarily any pensions above the legal minimum obligation. Furthermore, the measures in the Bill could severely undermine the existing dispute resolution bodies, which are provided to retired workers to vindicate their rights, including the Pensions Authority, and would undermine the separation of powers between pension fund trustees and employers, which has been deliberately legislated for to protect retired workers.

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