Seanad Éireann

Vol. 234 Wednesday, No. 10 8 October 2014 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SEANAD ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Insert Date Here 08/10/2014A00100Business of Seanad 618 08/10/2014B00200Order of Business 618 08/10/2014N00100Immigration Reform for US Citizens Living in Ireland Bill 2014: First Stage 642 Defence Forces Overseas Missions: Statements 642 08/10/2014R00200Report of Committee of Selection: Motion 649 08/10/2014R00550Business of Seanad 650 08/10/2014R01900Defence Forces Overseas Missions: Statements (Resumed) 651 Valuation (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) 656 08/10/2014GG00400Arts and Culture Sector: Motion 682 08/10/2014TT00500Adjournment Matters ��712 08/10/2014TT00550Waste Management 712 SEANAD ÉIREANN Dé Céadaoin, 08 Deireadh Fómhair 2014 Wednesday, 08 October 2014 Chuaigh an Cathaoirleach i gceannas ar 1030 am Machnamh agus Paidir. Reflection and Prayer. 08/10/2014A00100Business of Seanad 08/10/2014B00100An Cathaoirleach: I have received notice from Senator Colm Burke that, on the motion for the Adjournment of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to enter into discussion with Cork City Council and Cork County Council with a view to mak- ing a suitable site available to accommodate waste processing facilities, and in particular to establish what the long-term plans are for the Bottlehill landfill site, which cost over €48 million to build and is currently not in use I regard the matter raised by the Senator as suitable for discussion on the Adjournment and it will be taken at the conclusion of business 08/10/2014B00200Order of Business 08/10/2014B00300Senator Maurice Cummins: The Order of Business is No 1, statements on the participation by Irish Defence Forces personnel in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) mission on the Golan Heights, to be taken at 1 pm and to conclude no later than 145 pm, with contributions from all Senators not to exceed five minutes; No 2, Valuation (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2012 - Committee Stage (resumed), to be taken at 3 pm and to be adjourned no later than 5 pm, if not previously concluded; and No 55, motion No 9, Private Members’ business, to be taken at 5 pm, with the time allocated for this debate not to exceed two hours 08/10/2014B00400An Cathaoirleach: One point of clarification on No 1: is it Senators or spokespersons? 08/10/2014B00500Senator Maurice Cummins: It is spokespersons 618 8 October 2014 08/10/2014B00600Senator Darragh O’Brien: Everyone will agree that we are very proud of our Defence Forces and the force reserve company that has returned from a difficult mission in the Golan Heights I am delighted that they have all returned safely I commend the men and women of the reserve company on their bravery during their tour of duty over the past six months While there will be only a short debate or statements, it is important that this be recognised This is only one example, by the way, of how our Defence Forces and front-line services, including the Garda, have performed on United Nations peacekeeping duty in recent decades This should focus the Government’s mind on supporting our Defence Forces as much as possible I wel- come them back and I am glad everyone has returned safely On behalf of my group, I commend them all on the bravery they showed during the tour of duty Several weeks ago we debated at length the State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014 I re- minded colleagues at the time that it was the first time any Government had moved to legislate for a private pension scheme, namely, the Irish Aviation Superannuation Scheme I imagine all Members have received detailed correspondence from retired members of the scheme, whose group, the Retired Aviation Staff Association, does a fantastic job in representing them, as well as the deferred pensioners group On the basis of what the Government has passed in the Parlia- ment, they will have a loss to their potential pensions of between 48% and 55% I am keen to correct the record of the House In fairness, the Tánaiste, Deputy Joan Burton, and many of the Government Senators on the other side of the House have been corresponding with people who got in contact with them about their livelihoods, their quality of life and the fact that their pensions are going to be halved under the Government’s proposals The Tánaiste and the Government are putting out the message that the expert panel engaged extensively, in particular, with the deferred members group, which comprises 5,000 people and their families It did not The expert panel set up by the Government did not engage extensively in any way, particularly in respect of the deferred pensioners I know Senator Bacik has responded in a recent e-mail to Mr John Murphy in this regard She sent on a detailed response I acknowledge the fact that Senator Bacik responded to him, but I call on her to go back and check the facts That is not particularly a point against Senator Bacik but rather against the Government The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport will have to sign two commencement orders to tear asunder the scheme and these people’s promised pension benefits These people have worked for 35 or 36 years and had been expecting pensions They paid into the scheme on a compulsory basis On the basis of these proposals they will now have their pensions reduced by 50% If that were to happen in this House there would be a furore People would go crazy about any idea involving such massive reductions in pensions We debated the matter at length at the time I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection at this late stage to consider bring- ing forward amendments to reduce the level of reduction for deferred and retired members Let us not forget that many of the retired members have no ability to earn additional pay Many of these individuals are in their late 60s, 70s or 80s and have paid into this scheme for years This is not a solution Over the years and under successive Governments the scheme was used as a vehicle and an incentive for people to retire early It is proven now that the scheme could not afford to take the hit it has taken People have paid into the scheme for 30 or 35 years This is the first time the Government has legislated to reduce benefits in a private pension scheme In this regard, we need to know what the Tánaiste and the Government are doing I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to the effect that the Tánaiste and Minister 619 Seanad Éireann for Social Protection should come to the House for one hour to explain whether she is open to or will move further amendments to the scheme under the social welfare Bill to reduce the savage level of reductions proposed by the Government It is only reasonable that the Tánaiste come to the House and correct the record in respect of what her officials are telling her party members 08/10/2014B00700An Cathaoirleach: Senator, you are way over time 08/10/2014B00800Senator Darragh O’Brien: I am formally proposing an amendment to the Order of Busi- ness this morning 08/10/2014B00900Senator Ivana Bacik: I thank the Leader for arranging the debate today on the participation by Irish Defence Forces personnel in the UNDOF mission on the Golan Heights I am pleased that we will have the Minister in the House I have just come from a meeting of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, at which the Minister for Defence, Deputy Coveney, briefed members on the participation of Irish Defence Forces personnel in the Golan Heights mission I wish to add my voice to the voices of others in commending those in the Irish forces, who only returned late last night from their six-month tour of duty, who were re- sponsible for extremely brave and heroic actions in August They assisted in the safe extraction of 58 members of the Philippine battalion who had been attacked by rebels and, on 30 August, they extracted 35 Filipino troops from a position surrounded by rebels The Minister, Deputy Coveney, went into considerable detail with the committee on the circumstances of the rescue of the Filipino troops All of us should commend the 44th Battalion, which was involved in those rescues Moreover, we should all send our best wishes to the members of the 46th Infan- try group who were sent out at 630 am yesterday morning for a further six-month tour of duty following a review of the mission by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and at UN level There is major concern about the escalation of tensions in the area We had a good debate last night on the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill In the course of the debate we discussed briefly the situation in Syria, particularly the appalling circumstances of the siege of the town of Kobani, which, it appears, may fall to the rebels from ISIS, or the Islamic State group We spoke about

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