Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The failure of a large number of defined-benefit pension schemes, involving an estimated 30,000 workers, to submit recovery plans to the regulator before 30 June confirms, if we needed it, the crisis facing the pensions of thousands of workers across the country and illustrates the absolute need for the Government to intervene in this crisis. Many schemes will close over the coming months. On Monday, for the first time ever, we witnessed IBEC, ICTU, the Irish Association of Pension Funds and the Society of Actuaries in Ireland collectively calling on the Government, particularly the Minister for Social Protection, to take immediate action to avert the crisis. They made the telling point that Government inaction is making the matter much worse.

Failure to submit a recovery plan will force many trustees and sponsoring employers to make choices either to continue with schemes, to wind them up if they are in deficit or to realign their priorities. The Government said it would legislate for this. Just to make this concrete, we are faced with a scenario in which many retired executives will continue to receive pensions of up to €150,000 but a worker at 64 years of age in such a scheme may end up with nothing at all when he retires. Recently, people have lost up to 70% of their expected entitlements in some schemes. This is simply unacceptable.

The alliance that came together on Monday stated that over the coming months many schemes will unravel in an inequitable and unjustified way. The programme for Government promised to amend the Pensions Act 1990 to deal with this particular crisis. The recent Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill failed to do so. When does the Government intend to deal with this particular crisis and introduce the legislation it promised in the programme for the Government?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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This is an issue of considerable importance to thousands of workers around the country. Obviously, the Minister for Social Protection is well aware of this. The Government has yet to consider the submissions made arising from the requirement to submit plans and how it is proposed to deal with them.

Strong regulation of defined benefit pension schemes is essential to protect scheme members and the taxpayer. Stronger pension regulations could have prevented the situation in which some workers have lost almost all of their pensions. It is harrowing to speak to somebody who worked all their lives but found their expected pension diminished or gone entirely. Those calling for further regulatory forgiveness should reflect on the consequences of what light-touch regulation has brought about in this case and in the financial sector.

We cannot stand over a situation of allowing employees, by virtue of their employment contracts, to be forced to make contributions into a pension scheme from which they may never get a pension. It is morally wrong to expect workers, by contract, to pay into a pension scheme from which they may never draw a pension. The persistent funding difficulties of many of these defined benefit schemes due to increased life expectancy and the financial downturn is well recognised. Employers, unions and trustees have been making strenuous efforts to protect the viability of their schemes and many measures have been introduced to support them.

The funding standard for defined benefit schemes was suspended in 2008 following the downturn in the financial markets to give trustees and sponsoring employers adequate time to get their schemes in order and to consider a response to improving the funding position. Following the reintroduction of the funding standard in June 2012, pension schemes were required to submit funding proposals to the Pensions Board by 30 June 2013. We have had some initial reflections on the outcome of this. Where funding proposals have not been submitted, the Pensions Board will formally contact the schemes in question to ascertain their particular circumstances. The board will decide what steps to take on a scheme-by-scheme basis, taking into account the individual scheme’s circumstances.

It must be emphasised that trustees are required to meet their legal obligations. Ultimately, the Pensions Board will use its regulatory powers where underfunding is not properly addressed.

A number of things have happened. Significant changes in social welfare and the Pensions Act 2009 allowed for the restructuring of underfunded schemes by removing the priority given to post-retirement schemes for pensioners to ensure a more equitable distribution of assets in the event of a wind-up of a defined benefit scheme. The powers of the Pensions Board were strengthened to ensure pension contributions were remitted by employers to scheme trustees. The pensions insolvency payments scheme was established to reduce the cost of purchasing pensions for trustees where the employer became insolvent. Legislation was introduced in 2010 and 2011 to provide for the option of a sovereign annuity for trustees. Changes to the defined benefit model and the funding standard were introduced last year in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act, including the introduction of a risk reserve. The reintroduction of the funding standard followed the recent announcement by the Minister for Social Protection of a number of regulatory changes to assist defined benefit schemes as they prepared funding proposals. Legislation has since been enacted in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2013 to strengthen the powers of the Pensions Board. I expect the Minister for Social Protection to report to the Cabinet on the outcome of the response to the Pensions Board in due course.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is an extremely depressing response. The Taoiseach has simply read out what the Minister for Justice and Equality read out yesterday in the House to Deputy Willie O'Dea, who had raised this issue. The Government is fiddling on it, while pensions are burning fast. Schemes may close in the coming weeks and months, with no respite for workers. We know what happened in the case of Irish Permanent TSB following the Mercer report. The Taoiseach gave an order to cut the pay of executives by 6% to 10% and they decided to hit the defined pensions benefit scheme, leaving workers with absolutely nothing in many cases. The Taoiseach said it was morally wrong. Thousands of workers are now at risk every day. We know that 212 companies failed to submit recovery plans involving about 30,000 workers. The reason they did not submit recovery plans is that they are in dire straits, not to speak of the other 100,000 workers whose companies did manage to submit such plans but which could also be in difficulty. Potentially, up to 200,000 workers are involved in such schemes. We know that 30,000 workers were involved in schemes that could not even submit a recovery plan to the Pensions Board. The Minister promised in October 2011 to bring forward legislation to amend the priority order. She subsequently promised in September 2012 to bring forward legislation to amend the priority order, but she has failed to do so. Legislation was brought before the House recently and there was a full expectation on all sides that the issue would be dealt with. There may be a number of options through which it can be dealt with, but the Government made a commitment in its programme for Government to amend the Pensions Act 1990, but it has not done so, despite the fact that we are facing an imminent crisis in the pensions of many workers. The Taoiseach is right that it is wrong for people aged 63 years to face the prospect of receiving very little when they retire, but he can do something about this. He promised that he would, but he has not. Is there any timetable for the legislation to which the Government committed? When can we expect to see it?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The first thing we have to do is to determine the facts and the circumstances that apply. I referred to the consequences of light touch regulation and the financial downturn which have affected thousands of workers. Clearly, the Deputy agrees with this. It is wrong to expect workers to contribute under a employment contract to a defined benefit pensions scheme from which they may never draw a pension. I regard that as immoral. It is just ten days since the deadline passed for the submission to the Pensions Board of proposals by employers in respect of defined benefit pension schemes. It is only right and proper that we ascertain the absolute facts. I have heard some figures being bandied about, but we need to know the facts and I expect the Minister for Social Protection to bring to the Cabinet her analysis of the responses submitted. The Cabinet will then have to reflect on them.

The recent decision of the European Court of Justice in the Waterford Crystal case means that there is a great deal of work to be done before the Government can arrive at a comprehensive policy and a legislative framework to deal with the issues affecting defined benefit schemes in general. The Deputy is aware of this. The issue has been ongoing for many years and there have been a few serious court cases about it. We do not want to have a situation where the taxpayer becomes the paymaster for all of these schemes.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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That has nothing to do with the Waterford case.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is only right and proper, in the interests of the taxpayer, that the Government be in a position to know the facts before it decides on a legislative response.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government knows what the facts are.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The matter is far too serious to be flippant and say we can have an answer in the morning. This issue has dragged on for a long time.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is dragging it out.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We need to find out the facts before the Government can respond comprehensively and properly in the interests of workers, unions, employers and the taxpayer.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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How many of them will have gone under by then?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We need to know the facts and the Minister for Social for Protection will bring her report to the Government in due course. The Government will decide how best to address the matter. It is an enormous challenge, as the Deputy is aware.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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You created this mess in the first place.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Gerry Adams.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Fianna Fáil is responsible for-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please refrain. I have called Deputy Gerry Adams and I expect attention.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I raise the issue of symphysiotomy. I understand the independent report by Dr. Oonagh Walsh may be published soon, perhaps even later today. As the Taoiseach knows, many of the victims of this horrific procedure are very elderly. They have waited a very long time for justice. Approximately 350 of the 1,500 symphysiotomies were carried out in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, in many cases without the consent of the women involved. There are now just over 200 survivors, some of whom are quite frail. They are all very elderly and carry deep emotional and physical scars from their experiences. They have the support of all parties in the Oireachtas and the Government supported the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Bill 2013 which was introduced by Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. That Bill seeks to accommodate access to the courts for all victims of symphysiotomy who choose that course of action, but the Bill has not even been discussed or scheduled for discussion on Committee Stage. As many of the women concerned come from County Louth, they have been in touch with my office in the past month. There has been no consultation with them by the Government. Has there been consultation between the Government and the groups representing the victims? Will the Taoiseach outline the process that will be put in place to provide justice for the women concerned for what they suffered in this barbaric procedure?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. The Department of Health received the independent report produced by Professor Oonagh Walsh on symphysiotomy at the end of May. It was submitted to the Minister for Health on 31 May and both the Minister and departmental officials have been looking at the conclusions reached in it. A great deal of credit is due to Professor Walsh for the manner in which she conducted the report. It is the result of very considerable work by her and includes both academic research and consultation on that research involving patient groups, health professionals and, in particular, the women who underwent symphysiotomy treatment. The Minister for Health is very anxious to ensure appropriate treatment for the women concerned is made available. The finalised report will inform the Government's consideration of how best to deal with this issue and any action the Government may decide to take in response to its recommendations or to any of the legal implications that arises from it. The Minister will brief the Government very shortly on the report in order that it can make a decision on the next steps to be taken.

I know that the Deputy has expressed concern that the Department or the Minister was involved in dealing with one group on this issue. I can confirm that the Minister has made a commitment to meet representatives of the symphysiotomy support groups, once the Government has made its decision on how to proceed.

Contrary to some reports in the media, neither the Department nor the Minister has engaged in a process of meeting one group only. The Minister has given a clear commitment to meet the representatives of the support groups involved in this matter.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am mindful that we are going into recess and that it is important that the issue is dealt with before we break because it is an ongoing tragedy for the women involved. Everyone, including the Taoiseach, has acknowledged the barbaric nature of the butchery inflicted on these women citizens. There is a difference between a Government taking a decision and then meeting people to notify them of that decision and a Government consulting before taking a decision informed by those it has met. I strongly urge the Government to take the second course. Some of the women concerned will accept the redress scheme but others want to go to court. They should be able to make that decision. The Taoiseach met some of these women. They were in the Visitors Gallery on a number of occasions. When Fine Gael and the Labour Party were in opposition, they signed up to getting justice for these victims. I ask him to expedite this matter before the recess, to enter consultation with the women concerned or the groups representing them before the Government makes a decision and to give the women concerned a choice between a redress scheme and seeking justice through the courts.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I seem to have inherited a position of having to deal with a range of difficult issues involving not only financial, political and employment problems but also matters pertaining to the Magdalenes, thalidomide and the Neary cases of symphysiotomy. We want to do something about this issue. I have not yet read Professor Walsh's report, but it has been the Government's practice to engage with the various groups to listen to their stories and then decide what is the best thing to do. We received the report from Professor Walsh. I understand it is a credible report based on academic research and direct consultation with the women involved. We have dealt with a range of challenges in the Presidency for several months. The Minister for Health has not brought his analysis of the report to the Cabinet.

I take Deputy Gerry Adam's point about this being a matter of urgency, but it has moved to the point where we have a clear report and the Minister is committed to meeting the representatives of the groups prior to publication of the report. Given the time constraints on us between now and the summer recess, I will see what can be done. I cannot give a guarantee that it will be addressed, but I assure the Deputy this is one of a number of serious cases that I like to think we can deal with. I am not going to comment on the options he set out. The Government will decide what is the best thing to do arising from the recommendations made in the Walsh report and a consideration of the legal implications. This is a matter the Minister is taking seriously and we will consider his analysis of the Walsh report, meet representatives of the support groups, publish the report and get on with making a decision. It is the Minister's interest to ensure the women concerned are given the best and most appropriate treatment arising from what I described previously as a barbaric process. I have listened to a number of their stories and descriptions of the consequences for their personal well-being after so many years.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Does the Taoiseach agree that one of the great ironies of the present age is that older citizens are required to work longer simply to make ends meet because half the population do not have any pension provision, while the other half who thought they were the lucky ones have found out that they are not lucky at all after paying tens of thousands of euro into schemes that will be worth nothing? On the other side of the equation, young people across Europe are lying idle. A wasted generation remains unemployed, even at a time when much work needs to be done. It is an indictment of neoliberal capitalism that the youth unemployment rate stands at 50% in a number of countries in Europe. The average rate is 25% and in Ireland one in every three young people is unemployed. That figure would be one in two if the rest of them had not been driven out of the country, leaving their families and communities behind.

By anybody's reckoning, this is a crisis and an emergency. Where is the emergency response? Last week the Taoiseach and his colleagues lauded a €6 billion initiative to tackle youth unemployment. Will this be their European legacy? We wondered whether it was an escapade into black humour. It is proposed to spend €6 billion over seven years for more than 7 million unemployed young people. That works out at less than €1,000 per person and less than €150 per person per year. It would not even pay for one day of a FÁS course. Everybody knows some of our bankers can pull larger amounts out of lower parts of their anatomy in one go. If that was not insulting enough, the Government decided in the same gesture to allocate a sum ten times that amount for the banks. In effect, it is stating the banks are ten times more important than Europe's young people. The banks have already received €1 trillion at nominal interest rates from the ECB. Imagine what could have done with this money if it had been invested in a programme of public works to improve the physical and social infrastructure of Europe. Instead of introducing schemes for water meters or bullying homeowners, the Government could have repaired the water system. Why does the Government continue to promote policies that condemn young people to a lost generation? Will the Taoiseach assure us that he will not listen to the lunacy of the ESRI and will abandon austerity? Despite all he has said, austerity, clearly, is not working.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That was a good rant in two minutes. The Deputy conducted a fine analysis of her version of neoliberal capitalism. Does she think no one over here recognises the scale of the challenge for Europe, where 26 million people are unemployed? Has she not heard me say on many occasions that no leader in Europe could be proud of this situation? That is why the Irish Presidency shoved these major files across the line into reality. Some €960 billion is being provided by European taxpayers in the next seven years. Between €6 billion and €8 billion will be spent on tackling youth employment. The money will be front-loaded for the first two years and there is agreement on flexibility in reviewing the economic circumstances from 2016 and 2017. It is a fact of life that the unemployment rate among young people is at 60% in Greece and 57% in Spain, with varying figures in other locations. This is the big challenge. Next week I will be calling a special meeting of the Cabinet to deal with the specific issue of job creation. If we do not deal with that challenge, we will not be able to continue on our current path towards meeting our target of reducing the deficit below 3% by 2015. I have most of the ESRI's report. It endorses the Government's programme and states we must continue to achieve our exit from the bailout programme, bring about growth and investment, create jobs and meet our targets by 2015. The challenge for the Government is getting the balance right. Last Monday I visited Waterford with the Minister for Social Protection, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to deal with one small element of an initiative. The Government has listened to employers who say the tax credit system for employing people from the live register is too cumbersome and full of red tape. We abandoned that system and those who now take on people who have been out of work for 12 months or more will get a direct cash injection of €7,500 and, in respect of people unemployed for two years, a direct cash injection of €10,000.

This affects their cash flow, to their benefit, and reduces numbers on the live register. It also means that those on the live register are seen as a resource, not just as a list of people who draw other taxpayers' money in social welfare benefits. This is an expression of their motivation. If the Deputy wishes to prove the point, let her go and speak to the directors in HiTech which recruited some 60% of 400 employees off the live register because it is a resource of people with competence, ambition, motivation and experience.

Of course, many countries in Europe are in difficulty. That is why we were able to broker negotiations with the United States, why we brokered the negotiations now started with Japan and why we hope to conclude the trade negotiations with Canada. That is also why the decision taken at European Council and Presidency level during the Irish Presidency has greatly enhanced the opportunity to deal with this issue, including the very complex and technical areas in which progress has been made under the chairmanship of the Minister for Finance in respect of VAT issues.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach will have to issue work permits since he is creating so many jobs.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We all know these things. This is not going to be sorted out in one day, but we are heading in the right direction and continue to make progress.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach must have got sunstroke in Killarney at the weekend.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Will Deputies, please, stop mumbling? Will they, please, allow Deputy Clare Daly to speak and respect her right to contribute. We do not want to listen to Deputies mumbling. Will they, please, stay quiet for the Deputy and show some respect to the House?

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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I suppose the problem the Taoiseach has is one that prevails across the Government, namely, that there is an enormous disconnect between their words and the reality on the ground, the proof people experience. The reality on the ground is that there are fewer people in employment now than there were when the Government came to power. The Taoiseach has told us consistently and reiterated today that the Government's policies will turn the economy around and will result in investment and growth in jobs. He has been proved wrong on this, not in words but in reality in that the economy is moving back into recession. The Government's determination to follow the path of austerity being outlined by the ESRI will only condemn more young people to unemployment because that is not a priority for the ESRI.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does the Deputy have a question for the Taoiseach?

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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If the Taoiseach accepts this is an emergency, as he says he does, where is his emergency response?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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There is no disconnect between my words and what we know is happening on the ground. In the past 12 months we have had some 16,000 individual start-ups in this country, which shows the motivation and ambition of people to get up and work. There is a churn every month of 36,000 on the live register, which indicates that people move off the live register into the world of work. Unfortunately, however, they are replaced by others.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Much of this is due to emigration.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The unemployment rate has dropped from 14.5% to 13.8%. After the Order of Business today I am going to Naas to turn the sod on a €100 million investment by the Kerry Group which will create thousands of jobs in the coming years in a world-class food innovation centre. This is part of the programme for the agrifood sector which is worth over €9 billion currently. In addition, NexusUCD will employ over 300 highly paid researchers in dealing with the world of enterprise and academia. Therefore, it is not a case of despair and despondency at all times, as suggested by the Deputy. Of course, everybody understands the challenge for the Government is to deal with the scale of unemployment and the high numbers on the live register, but it must also open the doors of opportunity for business, to enable access to credit and jobs to be created. That is the challenge for everybody, but in her comments today the Deputy does not make any real proposal, other than the usual waffle which suggests this problem could be fixed with a magic wand which we do not have. However, the Government is setting out on a path balanced between dealing with the necessity for discipline to get our targets below 3% by 2015 and the creation of jobs. That is the reason the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform introduced two stimulus packages, most recently for 28 additional schools in the capital programme, creating jobs on the ground. These projects involve small contractors, which means people working, confidence and a spend in the local economy. The Deputy may not wish to see this, but it is the reality and we need more of this. I hope next week's Cabinet meeting on job creation will focus on a number of areas, including the construction sector. We hope to be able to create that extra stimulus whereby jobs can be created for men and women all over the country.