Vol. 508 No. 5
108 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny qualified for a pension of only £12.71 per fortnight in view of his long service to the Office of Public Works; the number of contributions he made to this pension; the amount in this regard; the grades this pension structure applies to; and the steps, if any, being taken to improve the situation. [19431/99]
The person referred to retired early on ill-health grounds and under the terms of the non-contributory pension scheme for non-established State employees, he qualified for ill-health added service calculated to take him up to his 65th birthday. He received a pension lump sum at the time. His pension was based on his annual rate of pay on the last day of reckonable service and is increased regularly in line with pay increases awarded to serving staff. The pension takes cognisance of the fact that this person also qualifies for payment of the contributory old age pension.
