I move amendment No. 185a:
In page 22, subsection (2), line 21, to delete "permanent capacity" and substitute "wholetime capacity".
This is a minor technical adjustment. Section 49 provides for the introduction of a pension scheme for the staffs of 40 or 50 children's residential centres. It gives effect to a commitment made some years ago during renegotiation on pay and conditions of service for the staff of these homes. In discussions between officials of my Department, the Department of the Environment and the Department of Finance it was decided that the most convenient way to provide a comprehensive superannuation scheme for these staffs would be to regard the staff as employees of the health board which fund their home and thus bring them them within the scope of the local government superannuation scheme. This is the scheme that applies to the staff of health boards, local authorities and various corporate bodies in the health and local government areas.
My Department have recently been advised by the Department of the Environment, which is responsible for the administration of the superannuation scheme, that the reference here to permanent capacity is incorrect and should be changed to whole-time capacity. The reason for this is that in order to be pensionable under the scheme an employee need not hold a permanent position but need only be employed in a whole-time capacity. In other words, the scheme applies to temporary staff as well as permanent staff provided they are employed on a whole-time basis. I hope this amendment will find common agreement.