Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 8, between lines 41 and 42, to insert the following subsection:

"(2) Before making a transfer order, the Minister shall lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a calculation of the assets, and actuarial assessment of the liabilities and the options which the Actuary indicates are open to the Trustees to close the deficit in the fund.".

This amendment brings us back to some of the points that have been made by Senator Burke. I am not quite sure what the effect of this legislation will be. I have tabled this amendment to ensure the extent of these schemes' assets and liabilities will be made known to the Oireachtas. I appreciate that if this amendment is accepted, the information in question will not be available until this legislation is passed. When I listened to Senator Burke expressing his concerns, I wondered whether it is possible that the Government's figures, which suggest that there are liabilities of €3 billion and assets of €1.7 billion, could be wrong. We do not know whether they are accurate.