Objections to controversial €400m pension levy ignored

A CONTROVERSIAL levy on private pensions worth more than €400 million a year is to be slapped on savers to help fund the Government’s much heralded jobs initiative being unveiled tomorrow.

Objections from trade unions and some sections of the pension industry have been brushed aside, Government sources confirmed, but Labour is still pushing for last-minute changes so that the less well-off are only hit lightly.

Despite having its title downgraded from a jobs “budget” to a less far-reaching “initiative”, the package of measures is still viewed as the centrepiece of the Government’s first six months in power.