John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 232: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the reason up to 300 former employees of An Post have not yet received 7% pension entitlements under the Sustaining Progress agreement; the progress made on the conclusion of the negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13971/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The authority to implement pension increases was delegated to An Post, subject to certain conditions, as this activity was considered part of the day-to-day operations of the company. This allowed the company to implement pension increases following pay increases to employees. However, decisions outside the scope of the original delegated authority still require the consent of the Ministers for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and Finance.

Following a proposal from the board of An Post to amend the existing pension increase terms of An Post, in this instance, my Department and the Department of Finance undertook a review of the situation. While I fully empathise with An Post pensioners for the position they find themselves in owing to the failure of An Post management and unions to reach agreement on implementation of the recovery strategy, the wider overall policy issues raised by the proposal from An Post also need to be considered.

The existing terms of the An Post superannuation scheme provide for pay parity so that pensions are increased in line with the pay of serving staff. This is in accordance with public service defined benefit pension increase policy generally, pay parity being an integral and well established practice which is widely applied in public service defined benefit pension schemes.

Unfortunately, following examination of the issue and taking into consideration the implications of providing a precedent which could impact adversely on the cost of pensions in the wider public sector and the existing practice of pay parity, increases to pensioners of An Post linked to increases under Sustaining Progress are not possible at this time.

While I understand the frustration of An Post pensioners with the situation, agreement in partnership with An Post unions to the restructuring plan aimed at securing the future of the company and providing sustainable long-term employment for An Post workers is the way forward. I have urged both the unions and the management of An Post to engage fully with the industrial relations mechanisms of the State to agree a way forward for the future of the company and all stakeholders in this matter.