A High Court judge has called on the CIÉ, Ireland’s national public transport provider, and a group of its staff members to convene in the following days to reconcile their differences in a protracted controversy concerning the largest pension fund of the semi-public corporation.
The contention surrounds CIÉ’s Superannuation Scheme 1951, a fund with assets amounting to €1.5 billion servicing nearly 5,000 members, a portion of whom are currently employed. A persistent disagreement has been the central issue, revolving around the approach to address the funding deficit between the scheme’s financial resources and its obligations, and the party responsible for plugging this shortfall.
Mr Justice Mark Sanfey handed down a decision on Friday, dictating that both parties were equally mandated to infuse funds to salvage the pension in the eventuality of insolvency troubles.
He emphasised in his ruling that, guided by the established rules, both contributors – the CIÉ and the members – were anticipated to chip in and perpetuate the financial stability of the fund.
As per the existing norms, CIÉ can be summoned to contribute funds up to 3.6 of what members do to sustain the scheme’s solvency. However, Mr Justice Sanfey underscored that this rule relative to the CIÉ is not unequivocal, accompanying the prerogative to navigate any solvency hurdles either through escalating the member contributions or trimming the member benefits.
He further outlined that, in instances where maintaining the solvency of the fund breaches the upper limit specified in the guidelines, the parties must engage in a dialogue to work out a compromise.
In situations where consensus remains elusive, the case could be brought before the Pensions Authority, an entity vested with the capability to enforce its own funding resolution.
For over ten years, the two parties have been at loggerheads regarding the pension fund issue, particularly regarding the initial deficits in the scheme. The matter has been raised in the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court, where a settlement was reached that encompassed reductions in benefits and an elevated retirement age beyond 60.
Shortly after, a number of the pension’s chosen committee’s representatives initiated proceedings in the High Court, hoping to establish that CIÉ was responsible for ensuring the fund’s solvency. Over the last few years, the pension funds’ economic status has seen an upturn, and currently it meets the minimum funding standard needed by Irish pension law. Despite this, CIÉ maintains that the implementation of Labour Court recommendations is essential.
The possibility of risk linked to High Court actions heavily influenced pension decisions at CIÉ, as retired workers were informed. In his judgment, Mr Justice Sanfey proposed that all involved parties may want to think over what orders should be executed following this judgment. He suggested the parties to organise a meeting and discuss suitable orders prior to the 3rd of May, when the case would be heard in court again.
Upon being approached by The Irish Times, a CIÉ representative mentioned that the enterprise was currently examining the judgment with the assistance of its legal counsels. He stated, “We plan to talk with the labour union group regarding necessary measures to finally bring enduring stability to the scheme, for the benefit of the scheme members, including current employees and retirees, and also to safeguard the financial robustness of the CIÉ Group itself.”
Emmett Cotter, who is among the pension scheme’s appointed trustees and one of eight litigants in the case, expressed approval of Mr Justice Sanfey’s verdict. He stated that those involved intend to closely scrutinise the judgment in the following days and communicate their findings to the scheme’s members.