asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement regarding the cost implications, the numbers involved and the rationale underlying the facility extended to certain Civil Service grades in relation to recognising time spent in acquiring qualifications and/or experience prescribed for appointment to certain recruitment grades along with actual service for the purposes of pension entitlements; the reason only some grades have been selected; the reason such a facility, if it is acceptable for some public servants, is not available for all; whether this is not defensible in the present economic climate; and the criteria which were used in reaching this decision.
Written Answers. - Grant of Free Added Years.
34.
In May 1984 the Civil Service Arbitration Board recommended that up to ten added years for superannuation purposes should be awarded in cases where the minimum entry requirements specified for appointment to certain posts in the Civil Service precluded appointment by age 25 and hence prevented an officer from acquiring full pensionable service — which is 40 years — by age 65 — the maximum retirement age.
The Arbitration Board found that there was, and I quote, "a legitimate grievance on the part of the claimants who, due to the recruitment restrictions pertaining under the particular competition off which they entered the Civil Service were unable to accrue full pension by age 65". This recommendation was accepted in September 1984 by the then Minister for the Public Service and is now being implemented.
Because of the various conditions attached to the granting of these added years, individual awards cannot formally be made until an officer's retirement. It is not possible, therefore, to supply firm details of the numbers affected or of the cost of implementing the finding. It has been estimated, however, that the annual cost would be of the order of £300,000.
The scope of the claim was explicitly limited to professional, technical and specialist grades and did not encompass any other classes of civil servants who are, generally, recruited at an age which enables them to have earned full pension by the time they reach retirement age.
Arrangements for the grant of free added years are not confined to the Civil Service. Similar arrangements have existed for some considerable time in the local authority and health board areas but were restricted to professional officers only; in 1987, however, the terms of the Arbitration Board's finding were extended to technical and specialist grades in these areas. The introduction of corresponding arrangements for State-sponsored body staff has also been agreed in principle with representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.