Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment. The amendment seeks to ensure that employers meet the commitments they have made to their employees. Where a person contributes to, and has an agreement with his or her employer for, a defined benefit scheme, the funding of that scheme should be proper and appropriate where the company has the financial capacity to do it. This amendment deals with that situation. It refers to a solvent firm and provides that it would not be allowed to close a defined benefit scheme until it has reached 90% funding. In other words, one would not have employers who have good financial capacity, are making a profit and giving a good dividend return to their shareholders deciding, perhaps in the interest of their balance sheets, not making their contributions to the defined benefit pension fund.

I understand why the changes are being made in respect of companies that do not have the capacity and which, if that were forced on them, could become insolvent as companies, with a consequent loss of employment. That would not make sense. However, I appeal to the Minister to come down on the side of hard-pressed workers. It is the employees of this country, particularly in the private sector, who have taken a huge hit in this recession. Many have been made redundant, while many of those in employment have either experienced no increase in salary or reduced salaries, or have been obliged to take part-time work. As the representatives of the people, we must take a stand to ensure fairness.

If the Minister disagrees with me, I ask her to point out where there is fairness in not obliging a company which is solvent and has the financial capacity to repair the deficit in the fund to at least bring it to 90%.

That does not prevent the scheme from being changed but if it is, at least the funding required from both the employees and the employer will be restored and repaired. That is a minimal step to support hard-pressed people who have been affected by the recession and who have secured little relief from the Government of which I was a member or this Government.