Vol. 529 No. 1
305 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if Bord Gáis Éireann sought her sanction for the payment of an ex-gratia payment to the spouses of workers who retired prior to 1992; if such sanction was refused; the reason for any such refusal; if she will reconsider the matter having regard to the difficulties being faced by surviving spouses of pensioners who retired before 1992; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1821/01]
I presume the Deputy is referring to the spouses of former employees of Dublin Gas who had retired before BGE acquired the assets of the company in 1987. I can confirm that BGE did approach my Department concerning the possibility of an ex-gratia payment to these spouses and I can assure the Deputy that the matter was considered at length both by my Department and the Department of Finance. The request for a spouse's pension on a non-contributory basis for these workers was refused on the basis that on taking over the old Dublin Gas Company, BGE accepted liability to continue the payment of pensions in accordance with the terms of the pension scheme under which the pensioners retired. No commitment existed that these arrangements would be subject to review for enhancement.
Any concession regarding payment of a spouse's pension on a non-contributoy basis would lead to knock-on effects in both private and public sector schemes.
Question No. 306 answered with Question No. 288.
