Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I listened to Senators O'Brien, Power and Cullinane and I agree with some elements of their contributions. There are many people based in Shannon, Limerick and along the west coast who took retirement in good faith. They made serious life decisions on the basis of an expectation that they had going forward and it is regrettable that the airport authority has not included people with deferred pensions in the negotiations. It seems that those with deferred pensions have been thrown to the wolves. Neither the unions nor the company care about them because they deferred their pensions but they did that at a time when the company was losing substantially and required significant cost-cutting. Those people were given options, and based on those options they made life decisions.
An intervention by the Minister to ensure there is a level playing pitch in the ongoing negotiations with those with deferred pensions is required. It is a badge of honour, so to speak. People fulfilled their side of the bargain by taking retirement. Many of them were probably close to retirement but they exercised the option outlined to them by the Government and the company at the time. It is unfair that they have no representation in the ongoing negotiations.
Another issue arises about people who transferred from the Department of Transport to new authorities in 1974. There is not many of them involved but they were given assurances at the time that they would receive Civil Service pro ratapensions and apparently that has not happened. I am aware the Minister has responded in parliamentary questions to others on this issue.

No more than the pensioners who deferred pensions in the middle of the last decade and who exercised that option in good faith, these people entered contracts in good faith. I understand some of the people who did not take the Government at its word back then are now enjoying the pensions as outlined to them at the time, but their colleagues who accepted the word of the Government at the time have suffered. That anomaly needs to be addressed.

Senator O'Brien referred to the serious issue of the deferred pensions. There is a question to be asked in regard to a company honouring its commitments and I would like to hear the Minister's comments in that regard. I have no doubt the issue will be resolved, but it must be resolved fairly and equitably for everybody. If there are cuts to be made, the group on deferred pensions should not suffer a significantly larger cut than those who are already on pensions. The cuts should be the same across the board. I agree there should be cuts. All of society has faced cuts, but these cuts should be fair.