The Irish Tara Mines scheme might reduce its pensioners’ payments by 10% a year due to the introduction of a new government levy, trade union SIPTU said.

According to SIPTU, 267 Tara Mines pensioners have received a letter from the trustees saying that, as a result of the 0.6% levy on private occupational pension funds, they must choose to accept either a 10% cut in their pension for the next four years, or a permanent reduction of 2.5% for the rest of their lives.

The pensioners hope to meet with Minister for Finance Michael Noonan to prevent the cut of their pension and to draw his attention to the effect the levy will have on private pension funds.

Tara Mines pensioners’ spokesman Tom Kelly told the Irish press yesterday that he does not believe this government pension levy will create jobs. “There are other more effective ways for the Government to generate jobs. If even a small proportion of Irish pension funds, that are currently valued at over €80 billion, were invested in this country rather than abroad, this would create many more jobs locally.”

Last May the government announced it would impose the 0.6% levy on pension funds for four years to generate €470 million a year to fund up to 100,000 jobs.

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