Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, in the context of the growing number of company failures, she intends to protect employees who have contributed to insolvent pension schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3240/09]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of defined benefit pension schemes which currently fail the minimum funding standard; and the number of these which are below 24% of the standard, 50% of the standard, and 75% of the standard respectively. [3211/09]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 122: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she is satisfied that Directive 80/987/EEC is being complied with here; and her plans to amend legislation arising from a Court of Justice judgement (details supplied). [3216/09]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 140: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the new measures being taken or the proposals being considered to address the crisis in private pension funds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3201/09]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 143: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she is satisfied with the level of enforcement of the minimum funding standard in respect of defined benefit pensions. [3213/09]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on applying any shortfall from the minimum funding standard in respect of a defined benefit pension scheme as a corporate debt on the company concerned. [3214/09]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 147: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the discussions between her Department and the European Commission in relation to compliance here with Directive 80/987/EEC. [3217/09]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 152: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if there has been correspondence between her office and persons (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3204/09]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps she will take to secure the pension benefits of workers with defined benefit pensions. [3212/09]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 158: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will review funding and employer contribution or top-up requirements in respect of private sector defined benefit employee pension funds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45345/08]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the correspondence she has received with respect to the possible insolvency or collapse of private sector defined benefit pension funds; her views on whether the failure of such funds would be unacceptable; if she has prepared a contingency plan in the event that such funds were to collapse; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45379/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 112, 116, 122, 140, 143, 144, 147, 152, 156, 158 and 161 together.

The pension rights of scheme members are protected through trust law and by provision in the Pensions Act 1990 as amended.

As supplementary pension schemes are usually established under irrevocable trust, the assets of the scheme are legally separate from the assets of the employer and are not available to any other creditors where the employer becomes insolvent. Under trust law, trustees of occupational pension schemes have the principal responsibility for ensuring that the entitlements of the members are adequately protected and that they receive the pensions due to them.

In addition to the safeguards provided by trust law, the Pensions Act 1990 also provides for the regulation of pensions schemes in Ireland. In an EU context, Article 8 of Directive 80/987/EEC provides that Member States shall ensure that the necessary measures are taken to protect the interests of employees and of persons having already left the employer's undertaking or business at the date of the onset of the employer's insolvency. In its review of the transposition of that Directive, the EU Commission, at the time gave an assurance that Ireland had adequately transposed the provision in that Directive. Accordingly, the implications of the more recent ECJ judgement are being assessed to see to what impact, if any, it might have on Ireland.

Under the Pensions Act, defined benefit pension schemes must meet a minimum funding standard which requires that schemes maintain sufficient assets to enable them discharge accrued liabilities in the event of the scheme winding up. Where schemes do not satisfy the Funding Standard, the sponsors/trustees must submit a funding proposal to the Pensions Board to restore full funding within three years. The Pensions Board can allow a scheme up to ten years to meet the standard in certain circumstances.

Based on the most recent actuarial funding certificates submitted to the Pensions Board 75% of defined benefit schemes passed the Funding Standard. Most of those schemes failing the test had a funding proposal in place. However, the effective date of most of these certificates pre-dates the current market difficulties. Accordingly, the full extent of the problem and the actual level of under-funding will not be fully apparent until schemes carry out their next actuarial assessment and report the results to the Pensions Board.

The Government is very conscious of the pressures on employers sponsoring pension schemes, and scheme trustees, arising from the very significant losses incurred by pension funds over the last year. It is anxious to ensure, in so far as it can, that those involved have sufficient time and space to fully assess the implications of the current difficulties for their schemes and the remedial action they can take.

Correspondence on these matters has been received from a number of interested bodies, including the Pensions Board, representative organisations and the social partners. The Government is considering the proposals and is working to find ways to ease the pressure on schemes by striking a balance between the long-term nature of pension savings and the need to ensure short-term security of accrued benefits. In this regard a number of short-term measures have already been announced.

Extra time is being allowed to schemes to formulate funding proposals. This will mean that trustees will have 18 months to review the situation with sponsoring employers and to formulate proposals for recovery.

The Pensions Board will deal as flexibly as possible with applications for approval of funding plans;

The Board will have the flexibility to allow longer periods (over 10 years) for recovery plans in appropriate circumstances;

The Board will allow the term of a replacement recovery plan to extend beyond the end date of the original plan where the scheme is part-way through a previous recovery plan but is off track due to investment losses;

The Board will take into account voluntary employer guarantees in approving recovery plans;

To ensure that these concessions are not seen as a weakening of supervision arrangements, the Board will not accept recovery plans which do not demonstrate an appropriate investment approach.

As indicated, these are short-term measures and the Government is considering the long-term response to the situation in the context of the Green Paper on Pensions and the framework for future policy which is being finalised at present.

Our objective must be a pensions system which can deliver adequate retirement incomes and which is affordable in the long-term for the State and those who sponsor occupational schemes.