Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 15:

In page 7, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following:"(1E) An appeals mechanism for pensioners shall be put in place where trustees have decided upon reduced benefits for members, and such appeals mechanism shall ensure that such pensioners have not been unfairly treated in any restructuring arrangement.",".

I am relying on the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament which has expressed serious concerns about the lack of access. It states the pension, as indicated, will deal with the priority order for defined benefit schemes in the event of a wind-up. If one examines the detail, it will do much more than this, as it will give additional powers to trustees and nothing to pensioners. The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and its members are concerned that, once again, the issue of the right of audience for pensioners is not being dealt with in the Bill.

It is worth reiterating that pensioners are former workers who are now in receipt of benefits for which they and their employers paid during their working lives. Until the 1970s, pensioners had a right of audience in the industrial relations machinery of the State. When this matter was raised by the Irish Senior Citizens' Parliament, ISCP, with the Government, the response was that, since pensions in payment could not be reduced, there was no need for such access. The CEO of the ISCP, Ms Mairead Hayes, stated that this reason was no longer valid because the position had changed dramatically in that pensions in payment had been reduced because of the imposition of the stamp duty pension levy. If the Bill is passed without amendment, the vista facing many pensioners may be bleak and their pensions will be reduced further.

According to the ISCP, if the Government is serious about fairness and intergenerational equality, it must start by giving pensioners a right of audience. In many schemes, pensioners or their associations are denied access to scheme trustees and sponsoring employers. This is regrettable at a time when the power of trustees is being rapidly increased. The ISCP is concerned that the option to restructure a scheme outside the double and single insolvency process might confer powers on trustees to act in a manner that might not be open and transparent to all of the stakeholders in a scheme. The ISCP wants the Bill to ensure that pensioners are recognised as active participants in any and all processes that impinge on their schemes, up to and including access to the State's industrial relations machinery.