Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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688. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the proposed actions that may be taken when the expert review into the Irish aviation superannuation scheme is concluded on 14 April 2014; the timeline for any proposed action that may be taken in this regard. [17407/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport I do not control the IAS Scheme. This is primarily a matter for the trustees, the members of the scheme, the companies participating in the scheme and the regulator of such pension schemes - the Pensions Authority.

The Expert Panel, established to carry out an urgent investigation of how a final resolution of the industrial relations issues relating to the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) can be secured, gave update on Friday last (April 11th) to officials of  my Department , the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ibec and Congress on progress to date.  The Panel confirmed that:

It is continuing to concentrate its efforts on engagement with DAA, Aer Lingus and the trade unions involved on critical issues which are being explored by the Panel with the parties through an outline of positions from the employers and the development of responses now being coordinated through Congress on behalf of the unions.

It will be continuing its engagement with the parties over the coming weeks to complete its investigation of how a final resolution of the complex industrial relations issues concerning the IASS can be achieved.

These discussions are taking place in the context of the separate Labour Court Recommendations in May 2013 in the cases of DAA and Aer Lingus, the IASS Trustee Proposal in February 2014 and the stated position of the parties

The Panel will report again in early May.

The purpose of the Expert Panel is to identify the critical issues and facilitate the parties to find a solution. In circumstances where this work is still underway and is at a critical juncture, it would be inappropriate to pre-empt the outcome or speculate on the outcome. It is important that these deliberations be allowed proceed over the coming weeks without interference so that a resolution might be found to this long-standing issue.

The significant deficit in the IAS scheme has arisen over the years as the companies and the members did not put enough into the scheme to match the benefits that were expected/promised. Resolution of the issues will involve contributions from all the parties involved.