Ruling was ‘well worth waiting for’

Despite 39 years of work during which he paid about €78,000 in accumulated pension contributions into the retirement fund, Seán Maher was looking at a pension of €50 or €60 per week once he reached 65, thanks to the “double insolvency” that hit Waterford Crystal in 2009.

Now, following the European Court of Justice’s ruling, he might actually get the payments to which he’s been entitled, along with up to 1,700 other ex-Waterford Crystal employees.

“Overjoyed,” he said yesterday. “Well worth waiting for.” He paid tribute to trade union Unite and all who took the case against the Government, and to the members’ legal team and actuaries who crunched the numbers and put together the arguments which were vindicated by the justices in Luxembourg.