Custodial sentence imposed on construction company directors convicted for deduction and non-remittance of employee pension contributions to the Construction Workers Pension Scheme
22 January 2013: In Kinsale District Court on Thursday 17 January 2013, Judge James McNulty convicted and imposed a fine of €5,000 on Murcav Limited, a limited liability company with a registered address at Unit 3J, Kinsale Commercial Park, Kinsale, Co. Cork for failing to remit employee pension contributions to the trustee of the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS) within the statutory time limit. Mark Cavanagh of 24 The Court, Compass Quay, Kinsale, Co. Cork and Patrick Crowe of Waterside House, Kinsale, Co. Cork, directors of the company, were also convicted and a custodial sentence of one month was imposed on each director, suspended for a period of 11 months on condition that each director pays €1,000 to CWPS.
Murcav Limited had deducted pension contributions from the wages and salaries of its employees in the months of March 2010 and April 2010 for remittance to the trustee of CWPS but had failed to remit the contributions to the trustee. These offences were committed with the consent, connivance or were attributable to the neglect on the part of Mark Cavanagh and Patrick Crowe, directors of the company.
Commenting on the conviction in this case, the Chief Executive of The Pensions Board, Mr. Brendan Kennedy, said, “This conviction should act as a warning to all employers and company directors that The Pensions Board treats the failure of the employer to remit pension contributions to the trustees of the pension scheme as a very serious offence. We advise any employer with outstanding pension contributions to immediately contact the pension scheme to regularise their position.”
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For further information, contact:
David Malone
Head of Operations
The Pensions Board
Tel:(01) 6131900
Note to Editors
The Pensions Board
The Pensions Board is the statutory body established by The Pensions Act 1990 to regulate occupational pension schemes, trust based RACs and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) and to advise the Minister for Social Protection on overall pension policy development. See www.pensionsboard.ie
Under the Act, the Board has power to investigate the state and conduct of Irish pension schemes, and to ensure that trustees, employers, pension administrators and their advisers comply with the obligations they owe to current and former employees in relation to their pension contributions and benefits.
The Board’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 and or sue any person that contravenes the provisions of the Act.
The Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS)
CWPS is an occupational pension scheme approved by the Revenue Commissioners and registered with The Pensions Board. It was established pursuant to a Registered Employment Agreement (“REA”) on Construction Industry Pensions, Assurance and Sick Pay, which is registered by the Labour Court and was concluded between employers and employee organisations operating in the construction industry.
Under the REA, all employers operating in the construction industry are required to become a party to an approved contributory pension scheme to provide pension and death-in-service benefits to employees. These obligations are discharged by deducting pension contributions from their employees and remitting them to CWPS or another appropriate scheme.