Publish pensions advice by Attorney General, says Mary Lou McDonald

» John Hedges

An Phoblacht Editor

'If it is as definitive as Fine Gael and Labour claim then we can have a look at it. And if that is the case, why can they not use such a mechanism as a levy or the taxation code to go in after these pensions?'

THE Fine Gael/Labour Government has been challenged by Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald to make public the advice of the Attorney General it says prevents it from tackling bankers’ huge pensions.

Earlier this week, former AIB chief executive Eugene Sheehy took a cut in his pension of €50,000 to €70,000 but Mary Lou McDonald says his reduced pension of €250,000 is still the type of money the average person would only see “if they won the Lotto”.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the Government is legally prevented from interfering in contractual pension arrangements and  “Publish it,” Mary Lou McDonald said. She said it is particularly important that the Government lets the people see the Attorney General’s advice facing into a “yet another difficult and vicious Budget” that will cut ordinary people’s living standards even further.

“If it is as definitive as Fine Gael and Labour claim then we can have a look at it. And if that is the case, why can they not use such a mechanism as a levy or the taxation code to go in after these pensions?

“I don’t accept it’s beyond their wit or ingenuity to find a mechanism to sort this out. I think it’s a matter of political will and they’d rather people look the other way, shrugged their shoulders and said that’s the way life is for bankers and politicians.”