ESB staff challenge pensions in court

Four ESB workers have brought a legal challenge over what they say is the “willful and deliberate” failure by the company to address a €1.5bn deficit in their pension scheme.

They are also concerned at the ESB’s “wrongful insistence” that it is now a “defined contribution” rather than a “defined benefit” scheme, which means what a person receives on retirement is no longer guaranteed.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said he was sure the pensioners were “worried sick”. This deficit amounted to “probably one of the largest holes” he had seen in the many pensions that had come before the court in the last few months.