Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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65. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the efforts that have been made to incorporate retired public servants into the wider public pay discussions; if there are legislative reasons trade unions cannot represent retired public servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10567/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As I informed the Deputy in my response to his written question of 27 November 2018 (PQ Ref: 49185/18), there is no formal mechanism to include recipients of public service pensions within the industrial relations framework and pay determination processes in the public service, and I understand that under employment and trade union law, trade unions can only represent workers in employment in negotiations on pay and conditions.

However, I can assure the Deputy that the interests and concerns of public service pensioners have been regularly articulated in meetings between the Alliance of Retired Public Servants, myself and my Department, including at a meeting between the Alliance and officials from my Department which took place last Thursday 28th February. Through this process of engagement, I believe that public service pensioners have had, and continue to be afforded, a meaningful and direct means of articulating their concerns in relation to pensions and related issues.

I would again emphasise that over the past number of years there have been notable pension improvements for many public service pensioners.

First, pensions in payment are benefiting significantly from the substantial reversal of the cuts to public service pensions above specified thresholds which were originally imposed by way of the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) under the FEMPI legislation.

Second, as part of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018 – 2020, the Government agreed a time-limited, conditions bound, return to the non-statutory, pay-linked method of pension adjustment which prevailed until the onset of the financial emergency. To that end, in January last year, my Department issued a Circular authorising pension increases to qualifying public service pensions on foot of the pay increases covering the 2018 to 2020 period under the PSSA, as legislated for in the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017.

In conclusion, both I and my Department are fully committed to maintaining the well-established dialogue with the Alliance of Retired Public Servants. Through ongoing recourse to that dialogue process, I believe that retired public servants and their representatives can be confident that their pension concerns will receive full and proper consideration, as they have done in the past.