Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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371. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the engagement with Coillte with a view to increasing the pension payments for retired workers, considering that their pensions have not been increased for many years and some have had no increase since they retired; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24119/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Pensions in Coillte are provided from schemes established under the Forestry Act 1988. The Coillte Superannuation Scheme rules provide that the “Company may grant such increases in pensions and preserved pensions under this Scheme as may be authorised from time to time by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance.”

From vesting day, 1 January 1989, until the onset of the financial crisis, pensions in Coillte continued to be granted on a discretionary pay parity basis in line with the practice in the public sector.

Coillte decided each year from 2008 to 2021, inclusive, not to grant any discretionary pension increase. Pension increases of 2% in 2022 (effective from 1 January 2022) and 4% in 2023 (effective from 1 January 2023) were subject to consent requests and received Ministerial approval in the respective years.

Coillte normally review the possibilities for pension increases on an annual basis and any request for increase is subject to consent being provided by the Minister, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and, as appropriate, the Minister for Finance.