I want to raise the ongoing and deeply frustrating situation facing retired CIÉ pensioners in County Louth and across the country, many of whom have not received any pension increase since 2008. These are men and women who have worked for decades in public transport and who often kept the wheels turning in both good times and bad. Last May, after 17 years, CIÉ and the trade unions finally reached agreement on proposals that would allow for a long-overdue pension increase of up to 5%. Employees voted on these proposals in August and both pension schemes accepted the changes. On foot of these ballots, pensioners were told that the increase would be implemented before Christmas. Imagine their shock that instead of having something nice in their stockings, all there was was a lump of coal. Payments did not come through. It was only after Christmas that they were made aware of the additional requirements that might be familiar to the Tánaiste and me, but mean nothing to the ordinary man and woman on the street. These requirements were a business case from CIÉ, sign-off across three Government Departments, approval from NewERA and input from the Attorney General before the Minister could even put the draft statutory instrument in place. The expectation of a payment before Christmas did not arise. A delay like this may seem bureaucratic but it undermines the credibility of those who make the promise and, as time flies, time for pensioners is truly precious. The increase involved is modest. For most people, it amounts to between €500 and €1,000 a year. However, there are pensioners struggling with rising costs for energy, food and healthcare for whom this is urgently needed. It is also important to state clearly that this increase applies to those who retired up to the end of 2022, people who have already given their working lives to public service. My ask is quite simple. I ask the Tánaiste to call on the Ministers to expedite all remaining approvals, progress the statutory instrument as a matter of urgency, and ensure that retired CIÉ pensioners finally receive the increase they have been promised and have waited too long for.

Sentiment score: 0.24

I am encouraged by the Tánaiste's words and by the fact that the Ministers are taking this very seriously. Time passes very quickly and the older you get, it passes even quicker. For a lot of these pensioners, what they are looking for is very modest but it will make a great difference in their daily lives. Time, for them, is really of the essence. I take the Tánaiste's point about communication. Fundamentally, that is the point here. They were promised that they would see it at Christmas but that probably was unrealistic. We have to be better at that. We always talk about the fact that we want to reward people who work hard. We should never forget and we must reward the people who have worked hard. They are essential. They are the reason the Tánaiste, I, the Opposition and everybody else are here today. They should be taken care of. Essentially, when we make a promise, we must keep the promise.

Sentiment score: 0.27