Renua Ireland president, Eddie Hobbs, launched another in a series of scathing attacks on public service pensions at a seminar held by the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF).

IMPACT representatives attending the seminar report that Hobbs claimed current policy makers will not change the public service superannuation system and that there would be no reform as long as the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is run by Minister Brendan Howlin ‘or people of similar views.’

It’s reported that he went on to claim that RTE would not broadcast an ‘exposé’ on Public Sector pensions because RTE staff benefit from similar Direct Benefit (DB) schemes themselves and have, therefore, a ‘vested interest’ and would not air a pensions debate. He also claimed that the outgoing Government was composed of ‘25% teachers and senior Civil Service management’,  and therefore had no desire to change the current public sector pension system.

Hobbs is reported to have acknowledged that public sector workers do contribute something to their own pensions ‘but not much’. He added that if a worker dies in the public service, they receive ‘what amounts to free life insurance from the state’. Hobbs said that powerful vested interests needed to be ‘taken on’ to ‘tackle the gilded cage of public sector pensions once and for all’.

However, Hobbs appeared lost for words when he was challenged by IMPACT national secretary Matt Staunton, who told Hobbs that civil and public servants do contribute to their pensions. Matt said, “In many cases they contribute substantial amounts and many IMPACT members receive very little by way of pension, and in some cases none at all.”

Matt said that Hobbs refused to accept that public sector pension reform was already ongoing, with 25,000 public servants (close to 10% of all public servants) now in a ‘career average’ pension scheme. Matt added “Hobbs claims the actuarial cost of public sector pensions is €130bn and refused to acknowledge that pay restraint had decreased this to €100bn while a further €80bn in cost reductions will occur because of the change to career average pensions.”

Matt also gave details of the challenges that were faced by members of the Irish Aviation Superannuation Scheme.

Hobbs is reported to have stared blankly at Matt, ‘unwilling or unable to offer any response.’