I wish to address the ongoing failure to implement the CIÉ pension proposals that were accepted by the CIÉ staff on 15 August 2025. Before addressing the delay itself, it is important to acknowledge how this agreement came about, because it did not happen by accident and it did not happen easily. This deal was secured through Trojan work by CIÉ employees and former workers, that is, pensioners who refused to be brushed aside, who organised, who engaged constructively and who stayed at the table when it mattered. They approached this process in good faith with patience, persistence and a clear commitment to resolution. At every stage, these workers acted responsibly. They did not grandstand. They did not walk away. Instead, they engaged, negotiated and, ultimately, accepted proposals that they believe represented a fair and hard-won outcome. That acceptance, on 15 August 2025, was the culmination of years of effort by people who had already given decades of service to public transport in this State. That is why what has happened since is so deeply disappointing. Months after acceptance, the agreed proposals remain unimplemented. Pensioners who did everything asked of them are left waiting, not because of any failure on their part but because the State has failed to move with the urgency that this agreement deserved. I will focus in on one particularly important aspect of the proposal. The agreement states that pensioners will, on acceptance of the proposal, receive increases on all CIÉ pensions up to a maximum pension of €30,000. The words "on acceptance" carry meaning. They reflect the understanding reached after difficult negotiations and sustained engagement by workers and pensioners who fought to ensure that their concerns were finally recognised yet today, those pensioners have seen no increase. The delay in introducing the necessary statutory instrument has effectively frozen the benefit of an agreement that was secured with extraordinary effort and good will on the part of workers. This raises a fundamental question of fairness also. When an agreement is accepted and when pensioners have fulfilled their side of the agreement, why should they bear the financial cost of administrative delay? Many of these pensioners are living on modest fixed incomes. They are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for the delivery of what was agreed and for recognition of the contribution they made in achieving that agreement in the first instance. This situation also risks undermining trust in the industrial relations process. If workers engage constructively, refuse to be sidelined and, ultimately, reach agreement only to see implementation drift endlessly, confidence in future engagement is weakened. I am asking the Minister of State to act with the same seriousness and good faith that CIÉ workers and pensioners showed throughout this entire process. That means providing a clear timeframe for the statutory instrument. It means confirming that pensioners will not be disadvantaged by the delay itself and it would mean recognising that agreement secured through Trojan effort must be honoured in full and without further drift. CIÉ workers and pensioners did their part. It is now time for the State to do theirs.

Sentiment score: 0.33

I appreciate the reply from the Department. I want to give some context to the significant issue I raised. Yesterday, in my office, I met a former CIÉ worker, a pensioner. This is the fundamental issue he is facing right now, as it is for those he meets for the monthly cup of tea or coffee - the conversation they once had in their staffroom. On the new defined contribution scheme, the Minister acknowledged the positive outcome of the ballot held on 15 August 2025. Following on from this constructive and collaborative agreement, the Department of Transport is engaging with CÍÉ. It brings us back to fundamental fact – the proposals were accepted on 15 August 2025. The agreement states that pensioners will receive increases on acceptance. That is not ambiguous language, yet today, pensioners have received nothing because the Government has failed to act in a timely manner. References to process and statutory instruments do not change that reality. Administrative delay by the State cannot become a justification for the financial loss of pensioners. The question remains and deserves a clear answer – when the statutory instrument is eventually introduced, will the pension increases be backdated to 15 August 2025? I think it is the case in a lot of similar situations to that of the man I met yesterday, who I know very well, and of all the pensioners in CIÉ, that it is often the case that the money itself is not the actual issue. It is that they signed up to this agreement under a pretence on 15 August 2025 - understandably it would have taken a period of time to get the agreement in place - but their fundamental question now is whether, if it happens in one year, two years or three years, it will be backdated to 15 August 2025, when that agreement was reached?

Sentiment score: 0.25