A PROTEST BY former aviation workers outside Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe’s home is “a matter for the Gardaí” his spokesperson has said.

The group are protesting against proposals to tackle the €750 million hole in the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) pension fund.

Dozens turned out to protest this evening.

A spokesperson for gardaí said there are no reports of any incidents.

A similar protest by some 100 people took place at the Minister’s west Dublin city home in December. The crowd carried placards and shouted slogans, as they spent around an hour outside the house.

Gardaí attended the demonstration — but there were no arrests.

In comments afterwards, Donohoe said the scale of the protest was “absolutely unacceptable”.

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“It is particularly unacceptable given that the protesters were aware I was not at home,” he added.

Around 60 people took part in a protest on the same issue at Dublin Airport earlier this month.

The dispute centres on former workers who are no longer employed at the companies covered by the fund — Dublin AirportAuthority, Aer Lingus and SR Technics — but are not yet in receipt of their pension.

They claim that the method of redressing proposed cuts to the scheme is not being done fairly, and that they have been excluded from representation by unions.

In a press release this afternoon, the Deferred IASS Action Group said it had been set up to replace the original Deferred IASS Committee, which stood down last week — and that it would be taking over the campaign.

The new group met last Monday, and plans to significant escalate protests on the issue in the coming months. 

Read: €780mn airport pension hole: Expert panel urges Aer Lingus and DAA to pay more

Read: SIPTU members at Aer Lingus and DAA to vote on strike action

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