THE PENSIONS Board says the High Court's judgment in the Limestone Construction case should serve as a warning to other employers who take money from workers' pay packets and fail to remit it to a pension scheme on their behalf.
The board says it will do everything possible to ensure that the arrears owed by Limestone are paid as soon as possible.
Criminal charges against the owners of the company, which can include fines of up to €25,000 and jail terms of up to two years, are also being considered.
Brendan Kennedy, chief executive of the board, said the importance of Ms Justice Laffoy's judgment could not be overestimated. "Failure to pay contributions to a scheme jeopardises the future retirement income of members and their dependants and that is a situation that will not be tolerated by the board."
Mr Kennedy said the board would in each case try to secure compliance with the Pensions Act on a voluntary basis.
"Where this does not happen, the board will not hesitate to pursue any party who takes money out of the pay packet of any worker and fails to remit that money to a pension scheme on their behalf," he added.
Limestone has been given two weeks to pay the contributions arrears to the Construction Workers' Pension Scheme.
Almost €187,000, representing the pension contributions of nearly 200 workers, went unpaid over a period of 14 months.
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