Vol. 550 No. 1
71 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Defence if his attention has been drawn to the case of ex-servicemen who left the Defence Forces prior to 1990 who have not been paid the full military service allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7242/02]
This question refers to the issue of having military service allowance, MSA, included in the calculation of the pensions of pre-August 1990 Defence Forces pensioners.
As I indicated in my reply to Question No. 46 on 13 February 2002, the position is that, arising from a recommendation made in 1990 by the Commission on Remuneration and Conditions of Service in the Defence Forces – the Gleeson commission – MSA, which had been introduced in 1979, was made pensionable in the case of personnel retiring on or after 1 August 1990. This approach was fully consistent with settled public service pensions policy which provides that the benefit of an allowance being made pensionable for serving personnel does not extend to existing pensioners.
The Commission on Public Service Pensions specifically addressed the issue of the pensionability of allowances, including the MSA, and the consequences for pensioners generally in its final report which was published in January 2001. However, having considered the arguments advanced by the groups affected, together with long-standing public service pensions policy in that context and the substantial cost implications involved, the commission did not recommend any increase for the pensioners concerned. No change in existing policy on this matter has been authorised in the context of the Government's consideration of the commission's final report.
The commission, whose report is the first comprehensive examination of public service pension arrangements since the foundation of the State, was an independent body. It had invited submissions from interested parties through an advertisement in the national press in September 1996 and I understand that groups representative of military pensioners were among those who made submissions and were met by the commission.
