asked the Minister for Lands if he will consider formulating a pension scheme for forestry workers.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Pension Scheme for Forestry Workers.
99.
Mr. Donnellan
The answer is in the negative. I am not satisfied that there are any special grounds which would warrant more favourable treatment of forestry workers in this regard than of other similar groups of employees in the State service.
Is it not a fact that the Department have for years accepted that the wages of forestry workers should be in line with those paid to local authority employees? Comparisons are always made in that particular regard. Now that pension schemes are in operation, and rightly so, for local authority workers, would the Minister not consider it is very remiss on his part, to put it mildly, not to have a pension scheme put into operation for forestry workers?
Quite a number of local authority employees and State employees have no pension scheme. Numbers of forestry workers are not employed on a full-time basis. The view of the Minister is that he would not be justified in giving special treatment to forestry workers as against the other categories mentioned.
Would the Minister state if there is a scheme whereby gratuities are paid to long-service employees of the Forestry Division?
There is such a scheme.
Would the Minister publicise the scheme, because the employees are unaware of it?
There are certain difficulties in connection with that scheme. Records of employment, particularly in the case of those who have been a long time in the employment of the Division, are not always available, but there is a scheme of the nature referred to by the Deputy.
Employees are absolutely unaware of it.