Daily Mail journalist Ferghal Blaney has privately apologised to IMPACT for misrepresenting facts in a front page story, published last week (Wednesday February 4th), about a proposed new mandatory pension scheme for workers.
The story made a number of false claims, including that “public sector pension contributions were virtually non-existent before the recession” and that unions were seeking rebates to be paid on the pension levy, imposed in 2009. Blaney described the levy as a “pension contribution” by “cosseted” workers in the public sector.
In a letter to Blaney, IMPACT pointed out that the vast majority of public sector workers have always made a 6.5% contribution toward their pensions. The letter also explained that the pension levy was imposed as an emergency measure to cut the public sector pay bill, and that no benefit accrues to public sector pensions from the levy.
The letter also stated that finding affordable solutions to provide for future pensions for all workers is essential but that “In the debate about how best that can be achieved, it serves nobody’s interests to set up workers in the public sector as a target for unnecessary invective.”
In a brief written response, Blaney apologised “if I or anyone else in the editorial process misrepresented facts in anyway.”
IMPACT also sent a letter for publication to the Daily Mail, outlining the manner in which the facts were misrepresented by the paper. The Mail has declined to publish IMPACT’s letter. It published a response this week from Moira Hines, a nurse from Mallow, County Cork who wrote, “Public sector workers have always contributed to their pensions. The pension levy was enforced to help bail out the Government. We will never see that money again.”
