345. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to confirm if his Department has appointed a suitably qualified individual to carry out an assessment of the issues faced by An Post retirees, as requested by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport in a letter dated 29th of May 2026; and to outline the reason agreed pension increases have not yet been paid to An Post retirees. [67957/26]

Under section 46 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, approves any superannuation schemes submitted by An Post. The operation of the schemes is a matter between the management of An Post, staff representatives and the trustees of the schemes.

Matters had been raised concerning the operation of the An Post Superannuation Schemes and notwithstanding the fact that such operation is a matter for An Post, legal advice was previously sought for clarity on the matter. I am advised that there were no issues of concern and the schemes are being operated in compliance with the relevant legislation. My officials have responded to the Joint Oireachtas Committee in detail, regarding matters raised during the course of its session accordingly.

In accordance with the Act and the relevant Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, An Post must seek Ministerial approval from both Ministers to increase pensions and deferred pensions for members of the An Post superannuation scheme. Section 2.13 of the Code of Practice for Governance of State Bodies Superannuation and Remuneration annex sets out that NewERA advice should be sought in respect of pension amendment proposals, as is appropriate in their role as commercial and financial advisors to the Ministers.

On 11 May 2026, An Post wrote to my Department requesting consent for an increase to pensions in payment and deferred pensions of 2%, arising from its agreements with employee representative groups. It is not possible, at this point, to set out the specific timeframe within which the decision-making process will be concluded by both shareholding Ministers in respect of increases submitted for consent. It should be recognised that the time taken for the pension approval process is necessary to ensure that robust governance procedures are in place, however my Department is working closely with An Post and other relevant stakeholders to complete the process as quickly as possible.