Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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151. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 8 of 12 February 2015, the different situations whereby referral to the High Court on a point of law, as outlined in that reply, could be taken. [9378/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Part IV of the Pensions Act sets out the funding requirement which applies to funded defined benefit pension schemes. This is often referred to as the funding standard. This standard requires the trustees of a defined benefit pension scheme to maintain sufficient resources in the scheme to meet the liabilities of the scheme in the event of the wind up of a scheme.

Where a scheme fails to satisfy the funding standard, the trustees of the scheme are required to submit a funding proposal to the Pensions Authority outlining their plan to restore scheme funding. The Pensions Authority can either unilaterally or on an application from the trustees of the scheme issue a direction to the trustees of a scheme to restructure scheme benefits. Such a direction by the Pensions Authority only facilitates a restructuring of benefits which is designed to enable the scheme satisfy the funding standard.

Section 50 (6) of the Pensions Act provides for the right to appeal to the High Court on a point of law in circumstances where the Pensions Authority issues a unilateral direction. Such a right of appeal does not exist where the trustees of the pension scheme, who are required under trust law to act in the best interest of all scheme members, make an application to the Pensions Authority to restructure scheme benefits.