Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I can assure the Minister that Senators on both sides of the House want to see a fair and equitable resolution to the pension difficulties facing the scheme. It has been going on for a number of years and a fair solution needs to be found.

The Minister said he cannot interfere in those arrangements but that is precisely what he is doing in bringing forward this legislation. As my colleague, Senator Darragh O'Brien, pointed out last week, it is unprecedented for the Government to bring forward legislation that interferes with the private pension rights of employees in such as way. It has not happened with any other company and it is inappropriate.

It is also unfair that the Minister is essentially legislating so that the scheme can be wound up without the consent of any of its members and without meeting any minimum funding standard. The situation has not been resolved, although we asked the Government to withdraw the previous section from the Bill and allow the expert panel to continue its work on seeking a fair resolution. I do not think that is unreasonable.

The expert panel was established to try to find a solution to all these issues. It looked at the company's ability to pay, considered what is reasonable and weighed that against the rights of employees and deferred pensioners who paid into a scheme on the assurance that it would be a defined benefit one. The expert group was supposed to come up with a fair arrangement but, instead, the Minister is pre-empting all of that. He is legislating so that the scheme can be wound down without any of those protections. That is why we think it is wrong and want, at least, in insert this one protection based on the OECD's recommendations. That would ensure that trustees would have to clear at least one hurdle before being able to close the scheme.

As regards the overall issue, however, we do not feel that any provisions concerning the IAS should be in this Bill. We would have preferred the Minister to withdraw the other section and allow the expert panel to do its work.