Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)

I am disappointed at that response. I understand the logic the Minister has put forward and I accept that the Department is doing all that it can. However, I have very real concerns that the Department and the Minister are not sufficiently prepared for this launch date. As much as they have done a promotional campaign, there are equally some unscrupulous actors equally promoting themselves to divert employers from investing in this My Future Fund on behalf of employees to other funds. The Minister seems to have done absolutely nothing about it.

More typically, when we think about the investment management role of any organisation that is charged with managing funds on behalf of individuals, it is absolutely imperative that fiduciary responsibility is not implied or intended but is made explicit and is charged specifically to those who have the oversight and the role of ensuring that their funds are being managed appropriately. Saying that the investment managers - private pension funds - are going to do it is ridiculous. You need to have proper oversight and you need to ensure that the board is actually charged explicitly with that role. I am quite disappointed that the Minister does not agree.

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