‘Dictatorship’ claim over public sector pension cuts plan

The Government is operating undemocratically and akin to a “dictatorship” by pursuing cuts to the incomes of more than 20,000 public service pensioners without any form of consultation with those affected, it has been claimed.

The Alliance of Retired Public Servants, an umbrella body whose constituent organisations represent 33,000 retired public servants, has made numerous requests to the Department of Public Enterprise and Reform to have an involvement in the discussions on the Croke Park II savings.

At the start of January, when negotiations on the new agreement were ongoing, the alliance wrote to Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin seeking an input. They received a response saying the first Croke Park deal was negotiated and agreed as an industrial relations agreement between public service employers and unions. “The agreement does not encompass retired public servants and their pension entitlements,” the minister’s office said in the letter. “Current discussions in relation to an extension of the Public Service Agreement are being conducted on a similar basis.”