Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 148: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent annual report of the Pensions Ombudsman. [31734/06]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 159: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the 30% rise in complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31819/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 148 and 159 together.

The function of the Pensions Ombudsman is to investigate complaints that an individual has suffered a financial loss because of maladministration in the operation of an occupational pension scheme or a personal retirement savings account. He also investigates disputes of fact or law concerning pension schemes, between members and others entitled to benefit from the schemes, with trustees or managers or employers. The Ombudsman has powers to make binding determinations in relation to disputes which come before him for decision but I am very pleased at the emphasis he places on resolving issues by mediation. This allows for a certain degree of flexibility in how problems are approached.

The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman has been in operation since 2003 but the office was not fully staffed until late 2004, so 2005 is in effect the first full year in which the Office has been fully operational. The recent Annual Report is, amongst other things, an overview of the business conducted by the Office in 2005, which was in effect, the first full year in which the Office had been operational. The Report highlights a range of issues to which the Pensions Ombudsman wishes to draw attention. These include women's pensions coverage, pensions for part-time workers in the public sector, overprotective legislation, the quality of information material supplied by pension providers to customers and problems with the Construction Federation Operatives Pensions Scheme (CFOPs).

In relation to CFOPS, the question of employment rights and compliance featured strongly in the recent partnership talks and I was pleased to see a commitment in "Towards 2016" for the establishment of the Office of the Director for Employment Rights and Compliance under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and a trebling of the Labour Inspectorate. I am sure that, when constituted, the new body will improve the enforcement of employment rights generally, including registered employment agreements, under one of which this pension scheme is constituted.

The publication of the Annual Report and the associated Digest of Cases is a way to highlight issues for a wider audience, particularly those engaged in pensions administration, and to demonstrate what the Pensions Ombudsman can do for individuals. Hopefully, it will also help those charged with administering pension schemes to identify weaknesses in their practices and possibly avoid references of complaints to the Ombudsman.

The Office complements the work of the Pensions Board and it also works closely with other regulating bodies in the financial area to ensure that complaints are directed to and dealt with in the most appropriate forum. The Pensions Ombudsman, The Pensions Board and the Financial Regulator represent a comprehensive system of protection and redress for pension scheme members. In that regard, I was very pleased to see that The Pensions Ombudsman has concluded Memoranda of Understanding with both the Financial Services Ombudsman and the Chief Executive of the Irish Financial Regulator in order to ensure that complaints are directed to the most appropriate authority for investigation. This helps to safeguard the interests of consumers of financial services generally.

The business of the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman continues to grow and in 2005 the number of complaints received for investigation rose by 31% along with a 79% increase in the level of general enquiries received. The service is still relatively new and it is therefore not surprising that the level of complaints being received is continuing to increase. The Pensions Ombudsman has worked hard to raise the profile of his office and the increase in the level of complaint is partly due to his success in this area.

The Pensions Ombudsman provides an invaluable service for pension scheme member and he can be assured of my full support for his work.

John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 150: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the efforts his Department is making to tackle the problem of high administration costs on occupational pension schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31827/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The primary responsibility for the administration of a pension scheme rests with the trustees of schemes. The trustees must, at all times, act in the best interests of the members and are required under the Pensions Act, and subject to regulations, to provide for the proper investment of the resources of the scheme. In order to discharge their responsibilities to scheme members they should ensure that they secure the best value available in terms of administration charges when arranging for the investment of scheme resources.

There are no controls on the administrative costs of occupational pension schemes. Such costs do not impact on the benefits of those in defined benefit schemes. In the case of Standard Personal Retirement Savings Accounts, the administration charges that can be applied are limited by legislation.

However, in the case of defined contribution arrangements, it is important that administration costs are kept to the minimum to ensure the maximum return on funds invested. Some defined contribution schemes provide a degree of choice for members in the manner in which their resources are invested. In such cases the Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2006, require that a description of the charges levied on each investment must be provided to members within 3 months of such a request.