Minister turns down meeting with Waterford Crystal pensioners

Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, has tonight turned down a meeting with the former workers of Waterford Crystal.

450 of the workers assert that they were misinformed about their pension options at the time of their redundancy in the early nineties. They say they were never given option forms (leaving service forms) containing their three pension options.

The Department of Social Protection, following advice from the Attorney General, have previously stated that the State accept no liability over the matter.

The workers have been urging the Department to reconsider.

Raising the matter in the Dáil this evening was Deputy David Cullinane and Deputy Conor McGuinness, who both called on Minister Dara Calleary to arrange a meeting with the workers.

In response, Minister Calleary said the following:

"In September 2024, then Taoiseach turned Tánaiste Simon Harris requested the Attorney General to review the claims being made, including the allegations around the failure to provide leaving service options. The Attorney General advised that there is no basis on which the state could be obliged to compensate the members concerned or otherwise intervene.

"I very much appreciate that the members of Waterford Crystal Pension Action Group (WCPAG) feel an injustice has been done to them. Unfortunately, it’s not something the State was a party to or can now resolve.

"I have already communicated that to the group and to Deputy Cullinane and nothing has changed from my Department’s perspective and there is no basis for me to intervene considering that the Attorney General has reviewed this issue comprehensively.

"I genuinely feel on this occasion that a meeting would be unfair because it may create an expectation that I cannot meet. 

"The Attorney General's advice is very clear; there is nothing further that can be done as of now in this case."

Our full report on this story is available HERE