Nurses at St Patrick’s Hospital ballot over pension closure

Hundreds of psychiatric nurses at St Patrick’s University Hospital in Dublin are to ballot for industrial action up to and including a strike following the closure of the facility’s defined benefit pension scheme.

The closure will take effect from June 2nd, and will impact 274 active members and 224 deferred members of the pension plan.

The scheme was set up in 2005 when the hospital’s existing defined benefit scheme ran into funding difficulties. St Patrick’s Mental Health Services said it transferred €17 million in additional funding to the new scheme at that point.

The new scheme fell back into deficit in 2008, at which point a “funding agreement” was reached with unions. As part of that, the hospital committed to contribute €1 million a year to the scheme for 11 years beginning January 2013.

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However, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, in a statement on Tuesday, said the scheme is “likely to deteriorate” and so it has been closed.

“There is now a general acknowledgement . . . that the financial position of the scheme, while healthy at present, is likely to deteriorate over the coming years and will be less than originally forecast,” it said.

“This represents a significant risk to the members of the scheme and to the organisation. Given this position, the organisation has decided to exercise its right under the funding agreement to close the scheme immediately.”

‘Casually undermined’

The organisation said it would honour the full terms of the funding agreement, which amounts to paying about €7 million into the pension scheme.

Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) general secretary Peter Hughes said on Tuesday the scheme had been closed without staff consultation following a “unilateral decision” by management at the hospital.

Mr Hughes said nurses were “incensed” at the decision, which, he said, “reneges on an agreement reached with the hospital, the Pensions Authority and trustees, to protect the core elements of the scheme”.

“This agreement would have provided for a sustainable level of benefits for members in the future but has now been unilaterally abandoned by management,” he said.

“The pension fund is fully funded and viable but in a blatant money-saving exercise, the St Patrick’s management has decided to simply shut the scheme down.

“Staff have not even been given the courtesy of being informed on the extent of loss of pension resulting from the closure of the scheme.

“The PNA and the other unions involved will not stand by and see staff pension entitlements and their futures being so casually undermined in this way.”

The ballot will take place on April 19th.