In response to questions from my party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, as well as from Deputy Howlin today, about the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar, seeking advice from the Attorney General as to the protection of the benefits of members of pension schemes and, specifically, defined benefit pension schemes, last week the Taoiseach responded in a rather sheepish way and said the Minister was simply seeking advice.

I remind the Taoiseach that the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, the Minister sitting beside him, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and the former Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, actually brought about this very issue. They brought it about through the destruction of the IAS pension scheme in which 15,000 members were removed from the pension scheme unilaterally. It was aided and abetted by the previous Government's-----

Does the Deputy have a question?

-----Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2014 and section 33 of the State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014. We warned at the time that this would set a roadmap for other employers of profitable firms to wind down their pension schemes and reduce pension scheme benefits. What is the Attorney General's advice? Does the Taoiseach intend to bring forward specific pension legislation to provide the protection that he and his Ministers removed from pension scheme members during the lifetime of the last Dáil and Seanad? The last Government has done more to undermine pension provision in this country by that and by the private pension levy that took €2.6 billion out of people's savings and provisions for their retirement.

The Minister for Social Protection met with the chairperson of the Pensions Authority. He has asked the authority to report back to him with an assessment of the current overall position on defined benefits schemes.

Why not amend the Pensions Act 1990?

He sought advice from the Attorney General on the way he might be able to look at the question of the public element of this issue. Legislation in this area cannot be made retrospective. The Minister has asked the chairperson of the Pensions Authority to report back to him. I mentioned before that there have been some calls for the funding standard that applies here to be suspended. That defines the basis upon which liabilities of defined benefits schemes have to be calculated. It provides a benchmark against which the strength of a scheme can be tested and when a scheme fails-----

It was allowed to fail.

-----the funding standard, it means that unless some action is taken, the scheme will not be able to pay all the benefits that are promised to the shareholders in the first place.

Employers are ensuring that these schemes fail. They have a roadmap to do it.

Any reduction in the funding standard would not improve the scheme's ability to pay the benefits as they fall due. The Minister will get the report from the chairman of the Pensions Authority in due course.

The Government should amend the Pensions Act 1990 to provide the protections that are required.