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GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST 1991
Associationof PensionLawyers
Republic of Ireland Regiona l
Group - Activities Update
The 17th of May 1990 was a
significant date for Pension
Lawyers. The European Court of
Justice passed down an important
decision on equality and pension
schemes. The Barber Case has
absorbed the attention of many of
our colleagues in the United
Kingdom for the past year. In
Ireland we have been absorbed by
the Pensions Act 1990!
The Association had an ex-
tremely busy year. Our first
meeting on 25th September last
was addressed by the Chairman of
the Society of Actuaries in Ireland,
Mr Paul Kelly FIA and the Chairman
of the Irish Association of Pension
Funds, Mr Paddy Gallagher BL. The
theme of the meeting was "The
Pensions Act 1990 - An Update".
This meeting was followed up by a
meeting on a specific aspect of the
Pensions Act. Chetwode Hamilton
of Arthur Cox & Co. delivered a
detailed apper on "Trusteeship and
the Pensions Act 1990". We were
delighted that this Presentation
formed the basis of an Article
which was published in this
March's Law Society
Gazette.
By
January 1991 the Pensions Board
itself had been appointed and the
Disclosure of Information Regula-
tions were published shortly
afterwards. At that juncture our
Legislative and Parliamentary
Committee, which is chaired by
Michael Lane of New Ireland
Assurance Co. Ltd, with Ultan
Stephenson, Roddie Buckley, Brian
Bohan and Anne Maher, got to
work on the Disclosure Regula-
tions. Their recommendations and
comments were passed on to the
Association's representative on the
Pensions Board, Mr
Brian
McCracken SC who is chairman of
the Legislative and Parliamentary
Committee of the Pensions Board.
In early February one of our
members Fiona Thornton of A & L
Goodbody delivered a paper on
"Some practical implications of the
principle of equal treatment in its
application to pension schemes" to
members of the Association and
also members of the Irish Society
for Labour Law. We were delighted
that the chairperson of the Equality
Agency joined us for that meeting.
We were also delighted to be
invited by Irish Pensions Trust Ltd
to refreshments afterwards where
there was a great deal of exchange
of views on Equal Treatment and
the Barber Case!
It has been the policy of the
Association to encourage members
who find themselves in London on
nights when the Association of
Pension Lawyers hold their
Seminars to attend so that we can
keep up to date with developments
in Pensions Law in the United
Kingdom. Throughout the year
members of the Association have
attended meetings of the Associa-
tion of Pension Lawyers. Chetwode
Hamilton was at a joint meeting
between the APL and the Associa-
tion of Consulting Actuaries. That
particular meeting discussed the
conflicts of interest in dealing with
pension schemes generally i.e.
where a Lawyer might be acting for
both the Trustee and the Principal
Employer.
Brian Buggy
of
Matheson, Ormsby & Prentice
attended another meeting on the
Imperial Tobacco cases.
To coincide with the tremendous
work which the Legislative and
Parliamentary Committee were
doing, Amme Maher of Irish Life
Assurance pic delivered a paper on
"Pensions Act 1990 - The
Disclosure Regulations". This was
a technical presentation on a
specific area of the Pensions Act
and of great interest to all our
members. Once again the social
exchange after the meeting proper
was most enjoyable and this time
it was hosted by Pension Invest-
ment Consultants Ltd.
May was a busy month as we
celebrated our first anniversary and
held a Dinner in the Kildare Street
and University Club which was a
resounding success. We were
delighted that the Regional Director
of the Association of Pension
Lawyers, Andrew Fleming, travelled
from Glasgow to join us for dinner.
Andrew was most complimentary
about our success throughout the
year and encouraged us to greater
heights for the future.
Our final meeting for the
1990/91 session was held in late
May. Mr Brian McCracken SC our
respresentative on the Pensions
Board gave us a presentation on
"the Overview of the Pensions
Board's Activities to date".
The Association of Pension
Lawyers are holding their Annual
Conference in Dublin in October.
This is as a tribute to the great
success of our Association and the
enthusiasm we have shown in
establishing our Regional Group. It
is a great honour to us that the
Association are coming to Dublin
and it will heighten barristers' and
solicitors' awareness of the whole
area of Pensions Law.
On the eve of the Conference our
Regional Group will also be
celebrating its establishment as a
separate Association from the
Association of Pension Lawyers in
the United Kingdom. To mark our
establishment we will be hosting a
reception for our members and for
all the delegates to the Conference.
We are delighted to have the
opportunity to thank all of those
people in the legal profession and
in the insurance industry who have
supported us so enthusiastically
throughout the year and who have
encouraged us to go forward to our
own separate establishment. In
future we will be known as the
Association of Pension Lawyers in
Ireland.
Finally I am delighted to be able
to state that our membership has
risen from 12 on 16 May 1990 to
over 80 by end June 1991. The
increase in numbers in our
Association is a great tribute to
the membership who have
supported us so loyally throughout
the year.
RAYMONDE KELLY
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