Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 February 2014
92. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the actions he has taken to resolve the potential strike action at our national airports; his views with regard to the future of the Irish airlines superannuation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8057/14]
View answerThe Minister is aware that SIPTU members at Aer Lingus and at three State airports have voted for industrial action up to and including strike action. The threat of strike action can have a damaging impact on our tourism industry. It affects sentiment towards Ireland and discourages people who might be looking at Ireland as a possible holiday destination. What action does the Minister propose to take to try to resolve the threat that now exists as a result of the SIPTU vote? The Minister is well aware that the situation relates to the Irish airlines superannuation scheme.
A resolution of the funding difficulties in the Irish airlines superannuation scheme, IASS, where there is currently a substantial and unsustainable deficit of over €700 million, is a matter for the trustees, the companies participating in the scheme, the members and the pensions board.
As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have continually encouraged all parties to continue to use the State’s labour relations machinery to resolve these difficulties. For some time, all parties have participated in discussions with the assistance of the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court to identify solutions. In May of last year, the Labour Court issued recommendations on the matter, including separate recommendations in relation to both Aer Lingus and DAA. A range of meetings involving the parties have taken place since then.
While I appreciate the frustration of staff in the companies, and indeed that of the employers, industrial action in DAA or Aer Lingus will not help to achieve a solution. It will, however, severely inconvenience passengers, including tourists and business travellers. It will also adversely impact on the financial position of the companies who are being asked to contribute more to solve the problem. A strike will obviously make it harder for them to do so, as it will have an affect on their profits.
On behalf of the Government, I appeal to all concerned to reflect carefully on the negative implications of proceeding with any disruptive industrial action. A resolution must be found. The trustees have recently published revised proposals to address the deficit in the IASS. They only did that a few days ago. I welcome this initiative as I believe it will assist the parties to refocus on the search for sustainable compromise solutions to the funding problems in the scheme.
I urge all parties to re-engage on the basis of these new proposals, using the State’s labour relations machinery which is available to them.
Yet again, the Minister is pleading the position of the hurler on the ditch. He rightly identified the involvement of the trustees, the pension board, the members and others. He also has some advice for them and is encouraging them to use the good offices of the State's industrial relations machinery. In addition, he has set out the case regarding the impact of such a strike. The only matter the Minister neglected to identify is that the State is the only shareholder in the three State airports, which is a significant component of the entire pension fund.
In addition, the Minister is a significant shareholder in Aer Lingus. I, therefore, do not accept his position that he is somehow a casual observer standing on the ditch. His role is far more involved than that. I would like to see him taking a more proactive role in trying to broker a solution to this crisis. The sooner the Minister involves himself, the sooner we can bring about a resolution.
As the Deputy says, the State is the sole shareholder in DAA and Shannon, as well as being a minority shareholder in Aer Lingus. There is a further employee SRT which no longer exists, as the Deputy will be aware. I would not like the Deputy to think, however, that I am disengaged from this; I certainly am not. I have had meetings with the companies at the highest level and meetings with the unions. In addition, my officials have met with the trustees on several occasions, together with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, who also has some semi-State pension issues within his remit.
I met the Pensions Board; therefore, it is not the case that I am an aloof observer. It is something about which I am concerned. However, it is not in my gift to impose a solution. This is not a public pension fund and is not controlled by the State; rather it is a pension fund made up of its members and I am not in a position to impose a solution. However, the offices of the State are available to assist those involved in brokering a solution. At this stage this is best done by the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. It is a big problem, with the deficit now over €700 million. It was approximately €300 million two years ago and the failure to deal with it has made the position much worse. It is getting worse because the benefits being drawn from it are greater than the contributions being made. The basis of the solution lies in this.
I accept the bona fides of the Minister and do not doubt he is involved in discussions with the various actors, but it requires more than this. As the significant shareholder, he is required to bring forward a more comprehensive funding solution. There are many issues with the pension fund. Employees transferred from the Department to work at Shannon Airport in 1969 and 1970 and the commitments given to them at the time were not and still have not been honoured. I will deal with that issue through a Private Members' Bill or by an amendment to legislation pertaining to the promised amalgamation of Shannon Airport and Shannon Development. There have been problems with the pension fund for quite some time and it requires more direct action by the Government through the Minister. I would welcome him considering bringing forward a more comprehensive funding solution to meet the needs of the workers, the people who have retired and those with deferred pension expectations.
The Deputy is correct. There have been problems with the pension fund for a very long time, for longer than I have been in office, and I am determined to ensure the issue is resolved under my watch. I want to make sure people receive their pensions and that we do not face disruption at the airports. I must also protect the taxpayer as any contribution from the companies into the pension fund is an indirect transfer of wealth from the taxpayer to the pensioners and the members of the pension fund, many of whom are better off than the average taxpayer. This must also be borne in mind. In the view of the Pensions Board it is a defined benefit pension fund and, as is the case with many other semi-State pension funds, the only way to address the problem is through the company putting in more and the beneficiaries accepting that they will not receive the benefits they had expected or that had been promised. That is how all other deficits such as this have been dealt with and I am sure that is where the solution will lie.
We will now return to Question No. 91 in the name of Deputy Clare Daly.
