AVCs can be a funny kind of undertaking

ISN’T it marvellous? Irish Life named Fund Managers of the Year. And now they’re running a radio ad trumpeting their achievements over the last 10 years and what do you get?

Confusion. You see, many second-level teachers opted to pay AVCs (Additional Voluntary Contributions) to build up a fund to enhance their pensions.

The fund was managed by Irish Life and over the last 10 years yes, the same 10 years some of us arrived at zero growth, and we were the lucky ones! So why didn't we switch to another supplier? Because we couldn't. This is a dedicated scheme, as set up by the Department of Finance. We must deal with Irish Life.

I complained to the Competition Authority. Silly me. They pointed out that, in order to be in breach of the Competition Act 2002, the offending party had to be an 'undertaking', which the Department of Finance is not.

I then wrote to my local MEP feeling that, surely, this anti-competitive arrangement had to be in breach of EU law. Unfortunately, Pat Cox was not willing to compete with anyone else who might correspond with me, so he did not reply. Presumably, he will be equally unwilling to compete for my vote during the Euro elections.

Brendan Casserly,

Abbeybridge,

Waterfall,

Co Cork.