Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I wish to draw the House's attention to the plight of the former employees of Gentex, a factory in Athlone which closed in the mid 1980s, causing severe financial hardship for a number of families. It appears that New Ireland Assurance was attempting to wrap up a pension plan when it discovered that all payments had not been made. New Ireland Assurance informed Mercer, which is the trustee of the Gentex pension plan, that the payments were outstanding. How, more than 20 years after the closure of Gentex, can payments be still outstanding to beneficiaries? Some of those beneficiaries have since passed away and it now falls to their families to try to sort out their entitlements. I understand 140 people could be affected by this situation.

I am aware that the Financial Services Ombudsman and the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority have been contacted about this issue. It raises the question as to how many other pension plans have been left hanging in mid air. Who is the watchdog for this area? I ask the Leader to clarify this and explain how all of the beneficiaries will be contacted. I believe the trustees have a duty of care to these people and should place advertisements in national and local newspapers informing them of their entitlements.