SEANAD REPORT:THE CONTROVERSIAL pension levy Bill was passed by 24 votes to 15. Some Opposition members complained strongly about a time restriction on the debate. A motion for early signature of the measure into law was also passed.
Minister of State Martin Mansergh said it was not the case that the European Central Bank had rejected or condemned what the Government was doing. The Government would be giving “necessary reassurances” to the ECB.
The Minister rejected an attempt by David Norris (Ind) to have the Irish Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland exempted from the legislation.
Mr Norris said the head of the ECB had stated that the Government had transgressed the independence of the central bank system in this country. The legislation was in conflict with a European requirement that a national central bank could not be limited in the control it had over its staff.
Mr Norris said these staff were not paid from money voted by the Oireachtas but from the bank’s own resources. The Bill was, in effect, creating a special tax on them. It was noteworthy that the Government had not sought the opinion of the relevant authorities in this case. An indication of how seriously the ECB took this matter was that it had provided an unsolicited view.
Joe O’Reilly (FG) said Mr Norris had raised an extraordinarily serious matter, and something that could put the entire legislation at risk.
Mr Mansergh said the Minister for Finance had been written to this week by the ECB in connection with the Bill. The bank had stated that the Government should ensure that plans to levy public service pensions did not tread on central bank independence or break rules banning such banks from funding budget shortfalls. “I understand that the views of the ECB hang on the question of consultation, and the Minister is, of course, open to this.”
Mr Norris said it was clear that the ECB had given us a slap on the wrist.
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David Norris (Ind) said he took strong exception to views put forward in The Irish Times yesterday by Donal Casey, a former chief executive of corporate business in Irish Life Permanent. This individual had stated that we had a defective gene in our national DNA and the painful truth was that we had all given tacit permission for the behaviour at the heart of our banking crisis.
“No, we have not, Mr Casey. I did not. The vast majority of people in this House did not. We were strongly critical all the time, and how dare you say that.”
The House should consider how best to reply to people who said, for example, that we had to apologise to the EU for voting against Lisbon, Mr Norris said.
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Nicky McFadden (FG) asked what the Government intended to do with the apartments in Manhattan which it owned through Anglo Irish Bank. He also asked whether it intended to sell them off or to revise the rents payable by the occupants.