A Tralee man is calling on the government to help pensioners from the state transport body, CIÉ, in next week’s budget.
82-year-old Christy Murphy is among some 6,000 pensioners whose CIÉ pensions have been frozen for more than 16 years.
The company halted both pay and pension increases in 2008, following the global economic crash; these were restored for staff in 2016, however, there has been no increase for pensioners.
CIÉ says it is not in a position to sustain increases for pensioners affected by the payment freeze; something which is disputed by the group representing former CIÉ workers.
Christy Murphy, who was an employee of the state transport body for over 45 years, is among 2,000 pensioners on the Class-D PRSI band; which means they are not entitled to the state pension.
He is urging the government to make changes in October’s budget, to allow these pensioners access to some of the benefits of the state pension.
