Vol. 507 No. 3
204 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Science if the case of arrears of pension under the special schools superannuation scheme will be examined for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9 who finds it difficult getting her standard pension increases from his Department; when the 3 per cent balance of PCW and first phase of Partnership 2000 increases will be paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16947/99]
The person referred to by the Deputy retired from a position in Finglas Children's Centre with effect from 31 December 1992 under the terms of the special schools superannuation schemes.
Pensioners are awarded increases in their pension in accordance with general round pay increases awarded to their serving counterparts in the special schools for young offenders. These increases are paid to the pensioners once the increase is sanctioned to the serving staff in the special schools. My Department makes every effort to pay the increases to the pensioners as soon as possible thereafter.
The specific arrears referred to by the Deputy relate to an announcement by the Minister for Finance on 4 November, 1997 that the Government had decided that public servants who retired before the commencement dates of restructuring pay agreements under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work should benefit from those agreements on a parity basis, subject to a minimum adjustment of 3 per cent in their pensions. Pensioners who had retired from groups that had not concluded a PCW restructuring agreement could not benefit until that agreement was concluded. The final sanction for implementation of the PCW agreement for the staff group of the person concerned, issued to Finglas Children's Centre on 5 May 1999. My Department has arranged for the new rate to issue to the person in question in the June pension payment and to issue the arrears applicable from September 1995 under the PCW agreement with the July pension payment.
The first phase of Partnership 2000 was effective from 1 July 1997. The revised pension rate plus arrears under this increase were paid to the person concerned in the October 1997 pension payment. There are no outstanding arrears due to the person in question arising from this increase under Partnership 2000.
