Tuesday 14 January 2020: In Meath District Court on Friday 10 January 2020, Judge Dunne convicted Rock Solution Options Ltd. for failing to comply with a statutory request made by the Pensions Authority pursuant to section 18 of the Pensions Act 1990, as amended.
The company with a registered address of Unit 3, Ashbourne Industrial Estate, Ashbourne, Co Meath, A84 X085 was fined €4,000. The directors of the company at the time the statutory request was issued, Niall O’Brien and John O’Connell, were also convicted and both were fined €5,000.
The request sought information and documentation detailing deductions made from employees’ wages for pension scheme contributions and payments made to the trustee of the pension scheme, the Construction Workers Pension Scheme, as a result of allegations that monies were not being remitted to the trustee.
Commenting on the conviction in this case, the Pensions Regulator, Brendan Kennedy, said, “This conviction should act as a warning to all employers and company directors that the Pensions Authority treats a failure to respond to a request for information by the Authority very seriously. The Authority has a responsibility to enforce this requirement and regards non-compliance as a serious matter.”
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For further information, contact:
David Malone
Head of Operations
The Pensions Authority
Tel (01) 6131900
Note to Editors
The Pensions Authority
The Pensions Authority (the “Authority”) is the statutory body established by the Pensions Act 1990 (the “Act”) to regulate occupational pension schemes, trust based RACs and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) and to advise the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection on overall pension policy development.
See www.pensionsauthority.ie
Under the Act, the Authority has power to carry out investigations into alleged breaches of the Act and to ensure that trustees, employers, pension administrators and their advisers comply with their obligations to current and former employees in relation to their pension contributions and benefits.
The Authority’s powers allow it to conduct on-site visits without notice, seize and copy relevant documents; enter dwellings on foot of a warrant, and to prosecute any person that contravenes the provisions of the Act.
