I move:—
That the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) Scheme, 1954, made by the Minister for Education, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, be confirmed.
This is a scheme the details of which have been agreed to as a result of conversations under the conciliation and arbitration scheme which is in existence for secondary teachers.
The first pension scheme for secondary teachers was introduced in 1929. This scheme provided for the payment of a pension on retirement at age of 60 years, or earlier through disability, to secondary teachers who paid a fixed contribution of 4 per cent. of annual salary to the pension fund. No retirement gratuities of any kind were payable, though a person leaving the scheme before becoming eligible for a pension could obtain a refund of his contributions and where a teacher died while in membership his next-of-kin became entitled to a death gratuity consisting of a refund of contributions with the addition of 3 per cent. compound interest. The scheme continued to be operated with minor amendments, but without any drastic revision until 1951, when an amendment scheme was introduced providing for the payment of retirement and disablement gratuities and for the payment of a marriage gratuity to women teachers retiring on marriage. In view of the additional benefits provided, the contribution paid by the teachers was increased to 5 per cent. of annual salary. The amendment scheme introduced in 1952 ironed out certain kinks in the 1951 scheme.
The present scheme is brought before you to give effect to certain agreements reached with the teachers under the conciliation machinery at present in operation and to give effect to a decision of the former Government made in August, 1952, to make a grant, ex gratia, to teachers, both national and secondary, who were on pension on the 1st January, 1950. The required amendment to the national teachers' superannuation schemes has already received the approval of the Oireachtas, and I am now seeking to put the decision into effect in relation to secondary teachers. In regard to the ex gratia grant, it was provided that it be paid in three annual instalments. The first instalment was paid to secondary teachers in November last but, as such a long time has elapsed since the decision was taken, I propose to pay the remaining instalments in one lump.
Apart from the ex gratia grant the scheme now offered makes provision as follows:—
1. That the pensionable salary of certain members who retire or die after 12th March, 1952, shall be the salary enjoyed on the date of retirement or death.
2. Where a person with a pension under the secondary schemes enters other pensionable services in which credit is allowed for secondary service, his pension under the secondary schemes shall cease.
3. That a person who has received a lump sum or an ex gratia grant or other gratuity under the primary superannuation schemes shall not be entitled to receive credit for his primary service again for purposes of benefits under the secondary superannuation schemes. (This provision secures that a person will not be in receipt of pension rights or gratuities under two different schemes for one particular period of service.)
4. Authority for deeming service in the Defence Forces during the emergency to be approved teaching service and pensionable service.
It contains a relaxation of certain conditions of payment of marriage gratuities to women members, and, in the case of a member who was hitherto not entitled to pensionable credit for pre-1929 service, he may now receive credit at the rate of one-hundredth of pensionable salary for each completed year of such service. The scheme also contains some minor provisions with retrospective effect to meet cases of hardship.
