Vol. 410 No. 3
23 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance whether the recent court ruling regarding the tax status of Garda pensions that can be attributable in part to children of the pensioner will have implications for other pensioners, particularly those in allied employment such as the harbour police; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The High Court decided, in the O'Carroll case, that the sum representing the children's pension, which was paid to the widow under the Garda Pension Order, 1981, should not be assessed as her personal income but rather as income of the children.
This judgment was based on the specific conditions and terms of the pension scheme in question. The Revenue Commissioners have accepted this judgment and have agreed that where the same conditions and terms apply in the case of other schemes, the High Court judgment should also apply. A number of other pension schemes have been reviewed by Revenue and are accepted as coming within the ambit of the O'Carroll judgment.
If the documentation concerning the pension scheme mentioned by the Deputy is made available to the Revenue Commissioners they will consider whether the High Court judgment applies.
