Bankers’ pensions move ‘essential’

Using taxpayers’ money to bring pension funds of bankers up to standard was a regrettable but essential move in reviving the economy, Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte has said.

Moves such as imposing a high tax on the pensions of any individual group in society would not be allowed by the Constitution, but he suggested that the Government may make some moves to address the issue in the upcoming budget.

He was commenting on an ESRI report that showed employers were putting 36 times more money into the pension packets of top executives than the rest of their workforce.