The FBU has today written to the CLG Fire Minister, Bob Neill, with a formal response to his ministerial statement of 9 February and the Heads of Agreement document. We expressed our disappointment with the way the document was amended at the last minute and the impact that had on an already sensitive discussion at the Executive Council.
Although the Heads of Agreement details all the main parameters of the proposed scheme the major problems are still the contribution increases and the normal pension age.
Undoubtedly there are other issues of concern such as accrual rates, revaluation rates and commutation factors but we feel that the logical position is to pursue a workable NPA as a priority. Other issues are largely dependent on a scheme being affordable and having a workable and realistic NPA.
For this reason we have focused our response on the biggest sticking points namely the contribution increases and the normal pension age rather than comment on each particular paragraph of the document.
However we did challenge other issues specifically;
1. The inconsistent way that the 10 year protection is being applied to the 1992 Firefighters’ Pension Scheme: in contrast with other public sector schemes not all members within 10 years of their expected pension age are protected.
2. The lack of progress in the eligibility for fire control member joining a fire service pension scheme.
3. Requesting a reassurance around the implementation of the RDS modified scheme.
We have meetings arranged with civil servants and will keep members informed of any progress.
