Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I believe a mistake has been made and I have signalled this very clearly to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I am now signalling it to the Minister and his Department. This scheme is not the same as a private or occupational pension scheme in that the State is determining, in effect, the eligible vehicles in this regard. The State is contributing a great deal of the money in this context too. I believe the Department of Finance does have a responsibility in this regard. As the Minister said, it is, ultimately, responsible for the mechanisms relating to the funds. There is a need for this to be examined in terms of the use of public moneys in ways that may, in fact, be inconsistent with national laws or international laws.

There is an opportunity to get this right. I disagree with the perspective that the State can abdicate responsibility for any ethical issues relating to how this money is invested. It would be worth reconsidering. I am not at all opposing the auto-enrolment scheme. I am, however, trying to ensure we set it up in a way that will prevent us having a scandal in two or three years because of how the money is invested and what it is going into. I am trying to prevent people saying in future that they were automatically enrolled in a scheme where the money was invested in a way that was unethical because no safeguards were put in place. This is about trying to avoid unnecessary difficulties down the line by getting things right at the beginning. I am going to leave this matter here. I know it is not entirely within the Minister's remit. It is, however, an issue for the Government to consider further, with both Ministers perhaps examining this issue together. I thank the Minister.