I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time.
The Bill makes provision for the amendment of the superannuation scheme made under Section 33 of the Central Bank Act, 1942. This scheme applies to the Governor and its terms are similar to those which were provided for members of the Electricity Supply Board by the Electricity Supply Board Superannuation Act, 1942. These terms enable a pension to be paid on retirement after at least ten years' service of 1/48th of salary for each year's service. No lump sum is payable but there is provision for a death gratuity of a year's salary after not less than five years' service.
These terms were considered to be the most suitable for offices of this type in which service would normally be short. The appointment of civil servants to such posts in recent years has, however, made it necessary to consider whether the short-service pension terms are the most suitable in such a case. A civil servant appointed to a post of this kind will almost certainly have given long service which is pensionable under the Superannuation Acts.
The terms of the Superannuation Acts, which are designed for the life career of the civil servant, provide a pension of 1/80th of salary for each year of service and a lump sum of 1/30th of salary for each year of service with a death gratuity after five years' service. Under Section 4 of the Superannuation Act, 1914, where a civil servant is selected for appointment to another post, for instance on the Board of a public body, and if the second post is recognised as "approved employment" under the section, it is possible to preserve the pension and lump sum that he has earned for his service up to the date of transfer and to pay it to him when he finally retires from his new post. This, however, has a disadvantage because the civil servant must complete a further ten years before he becomes entitled to any pension in respect of his service in the new post.
An even more serious drawback is that no death gratuity would be payable if the ex-civil servant were to die in the first five years of his service in the new post. The loss of entitlement to death gratuity for a number of years would naturally cause anxiety to a civil servant who might be selected for a post with a public body. On occasion in the past civil servants transferring to new employment have been allowed to carry their pensionable service with them for the purpose of an award on aggregate service to be made by their last employer. This benefit is available to civil servants who transfer to the staff of the Central Bank as well as to civil servants transferring to the service of a local authority. In each case the final award will be calculated according to the provisions of the Superannuation Acts.
This arrangement has been found to be more acceptable to civil servants who would prefer to retain their existing superannuation terms if they are asked to transfer to other employment and it has been extended in recent years to civil servants transferred to posts as Chairman of Córas Iompair Éireann and the Electricity Supply Board. Instead of the short-service terms formerly provided the civil servant continues to be entitled to the terms of the Superannuation Acts in his new employment and his final superannuation award is calculated on aggregate service on his pensionable salary in his last employment. It is now desired to make a similar provision for civil servants who may be appointed to the office of Governor of the Central Bank. Section 33 of the Central Bank Act, 1942, under which the existing superannuation scheme for the Governor was made, did not make any provision for amending the scheme, and this Bill has accordingly been necessary to enable an amending scheme to be made.
Section 2 of the Bill empowers the Board of the Bank to amend the existing scheme. Under Section 3 of the Bill an amending scheme may provide for the aggregation of pensionable service in the Civil Service with service as Governor, and for the calculation of the superannuation award on aggregate service according to the provisions of the Superannuation Acts. As all service will be reckoned for superannuation under the Central Bank scheme, no superannuation will in future be payable from voted moneys in respect of service in the Civil Service in cases covered by the amending scheme.
The amending scheme will have effect as from the 1st December, 1960, and will accordingly apply to the Governor who was in office at that date, and who would not, but for this provision, receive any superannuation for his service as Governor. Credit will be taken, in this case, for any payments made to him under the Superannuation Acts in respect of his service in the Civil Service.
I recommend this Bill to the House for its approval.
