I move:—
Go ndaingneofar Scéim Aoisliúntais na Meán-Mhúinteoirí (Leasú), 1951, a rinne an tAire Oideachais le toiliú an Aire Airgeadais.
This amendment Order before the House is rather complicated, but I hope to put the matter rather simply to the House. I would like Deputies to understand that there are about 2,100 teachers who are eligible to come in under the scheme but at the present moment there are only about 500 secondary teachers under the present pensions scheme. For the whole 2,100 I hope that in a very short time it will be possible for the Department to communicate to each one a simple statement not only of the scheme itself but of the way in which each, in his individual circumstances, would be affected financially if he desires to come in. I hope the Department will be able to let every eligible secondary teacher in the country know what it would cost him to come in and gain the advantages of this scheme.
It is necessary to say a word regarding the principle of the scheme, which would be the basis of the amended scheme. The principal scheme was introduced in 1929 and catered for two main bodies of secondary teachers, the first being existing recognised teachers who were in service on the appointed day, the 1st August, 1929, and the second being those called "future teachers", those who entered the service after that date. An existing recognised teacher was then required to apply for membership on or before 30th April, 1930, but in special circumstances that date could have been extended. A "future teacher" had to make application within 15 months of the date from which he desired his contributing service to begin. In respect of service on and after the appointed day, all members were required to make a contribution of 4 per cent. of the standard salary and the schools were required to contribute 2½ per cent. of each member's basic salary.
It is necessary to be clear that the salary of a recognised secondary teacher is made up of a basic portion and an incremental portion. The basic portion is a minimum payment made to the teacher by the schools, of £200 a year minimum in the case of a man and £180 in the case of a woman. The incremental portion consists of the additional annual increments paid by the State by way of increment pure and simple and the payment made to the secondary teacher who has an honours degree or who is doing teaching through the medium of Irish, for which an additional payment is made. Therefore, a standard salary consists of the basic and the incremental, and the incremental consists of pure increment and the amount paid in respect of the honours degree and teaching through Irish.
On the salary, then, the schools paid, in respect of a teacher who joined the scheme, 2½ per cent. on the basic portion of his salary, that is, the £180 for a woman or £200 for a man, and the teacher paid 4 per cent. both on the basic and on the incremental parts. But in respect of service before 1st August, 1929, that service was non-contributing service. In respect of the payments so made, the benefits were as follows, that is, the benefits which exist to-day under the principal scheme and subsequent amendments. First, there was a retirement pension. That was calculated on pensionable salary, at 1/100th for each year of non-contributing service—that is, service before 1st August, 1929—and an additional 1/80th for each year of contributing service, subject to a maximum of 40 years. Secondly, there was a disability pension, which was payable after service of not less than 10 years. It was on the same basis as the retirement pension. In the third place, there was a death gratuity, which consisted merely of a refund of the member's contributions that had been paid up to date, plus compound interest calculated on those payments at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum. There was a fourth payment, a short service gratuity, which consisted merely of a refund of contributions made by the member who left the service without qualifying for pension or any other benefit. That refund of pension in respect of short service gratuity was paid without any addition by way of interest. These, therefore, are the benefits which exist at the present moment.
The amendment scheme proposes additional new benefits, which I will enumerate. First, the retiring pension under the new scheme will be on the same basis as the pension hitherto. There is no change there. The second benefit is a lump sum payment on retirement. This is a new benefit. A lump sum will be paid on retirement on pension and will be based on the pensionable salary and calculated at the rate of 1/30th for each year of gratuity service subsequent to the 31st July, 1929. A member who has paid the additional contributions in respect of his service since that date will have his non-contributing service reckoned for gratuity purposes at a rate of 1/60th for each year of it. The third benefit under the amendment scheme is a death gratuity. This, to a certain extent, is a new benefit. I said that the old death gratuity consisted simply of the refund of the contributions paid up, plus 3 per cent. compound interest. The new gratuity is entirely different. If a member dies while in the service, his legal personal representative will be paid one year's pensionable salary, or a sum based upon the gratuity service, whichever is the greater. It will be a year's pensionable salary at least, but if his gratuity service is more than 30 years, the legal personal representative will be entitled to 1/30th of the pensionable service for 34 or 35 years, or for whatever number of years the gratuity service may be.
The fourth benefit is a disablement gratuity. This is an improved gratuity. Under the scheme as it exists at present, a disablement pension is payable only after ten years' service. The new scheme for disablement pensions will involve a member whose approved teaching service which is reckonable for pension is less than ten years; he may receive for each year of gratuity service a disablement gratuity on retirement equal to 1/12th of his pensionable salary. This is in addition to any lump sum earned.
The fifth benefit is a marriage gratuity for women teachers only, based on the pensionable salary and calculated at the rate of 1/12th for each year of gratuity service subject to a minimum of six and a maximum of 12 years. That means that a woman who has at least six years' service will get a gratuity on marriage of 1/12th for each year of service, the maximum payment which may be made in the case of retirement in such circumstances being one full year's salary.
Next is the short service gratuity which will be the same as it is at the present time. Where a person leaves the service without qualifying for pension or other benefits, that member will have his or her contribution refunded but without any addition by way of interest.
The amendment scheme as outlined involves the recasting of the contributions. It is proposed with regard to contributions that all existing members who wish to benefit under the terms of this amendment scheme will be required to pay as from the 1st August, 1950, a current contribution of 5 per cent. of the standard salary and they may opt to have their service prior to that date reckoned for gratuity purposes and in that case they will be required to pay in respect of each year of contributing service that they desire to have so reckoned, an additional contribution equal to 1½ per cent. of standard salary in the school year 1950-51. Deputies will remember that teachers at the present time pay 4 per cent. on their basic and incremental salary, that is their standard salary. In future, they will pay 5 per cent. If they wish to have their previous service reckoned for gratuity service they will have to pay in respect of whatever number of years they wish to bring into their gratuity services 1½ per cent., the payment being based on the standard salary in the school year 1950-51. That is with regard to existing members. An existing member who did not become a member upon the first date on which he was eligible to do so, may have his service antedated for pension purposes on payment for each year of his antedated service of a contribution equal to 6½ per cent. of his basic salary and 4 per cent. of his incremental salary during each such year with compound interest added at the rate of 1½ per cent. Such antedated service may also be reckoned for gratuity purposes on payment of an additional contribution of 1½ per cent. The scheme of contributions, as I have indicated, is that the teachers pay certain contributions on the whole of their salaries and the school pays 2½ per cent. on their basic salaries. If any of the existing members of the pension scheme wish to bring in more of their service than they have already brought into the pension scheme, they will be required to pay the whole of the back payment that they would normally have paid to keep them in the pension scheme and if they wish additional years like that to be reckoned as years entitling them to gratuities they will have to pay the 1½ per cent. as well.
With regard to teachers who are nonmembers at the present time, all recognised teachers who have not hitherto joined the scheme are now given the opportunity of doing so subject to their paying from the 1st August, 1950, a current contribution of 5 per cent. and paying arrears of contribution on the same basis as those payable for antedated service. They may also qualify for gratuities for pre- 1st of August, 1950, service on payment of 1½ per cent. In addition it is provided that members who retire between the 1st January, 1950, and the 31st July, 1950, will be treated as if they had been in approved teaching service on the 1st August, 1950, and exercised the options necessary to benefit under the scheme. Members who died between the 1st January, 1950, and the 31st July, 1951, unless they have indicated previously that they do not wish to contribute towards the gratuities, will be treated in the same way. They will be given the benefit of the scheme.
A period not exceeding five years from the 31st July, 1951, will be allowed for the payment of arrears and in the event of the death or enforced retirement of a member before he had paid the total amount of his arrears the amount outstanding will be deducted from the gratuity or pension payable.
By reason of the plans to enable not only serving teachers but teachers who are not under the scheme to come in and get benefit for previous service, the scheme seems rather complicated, but I hope that it will be possible in a very short time to inform directly from the Department every teacher eligible to come under the scheme or affected by it of the implications of the scheme and what are the opportunities involved for them individually.
