The person referred to by the Deputy served with City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee as a lecturer in the College of Marketing and Design up to May 1977 when she was suspended from duty. She never returned to service. She sought a pension from the committee in 1991 under the terms of the local government superannuation scheme but the committee decided that the lecturer was not entitled to payment. She was notified of this decision by letter dated 8 July 1992. In accordance with the provisions of the scheme, the lecturer was entitled to appeal, within a period of six months of being notified of the decision, to the Minister for the Environment. No appeal was made within the required period.
The lecturer died in September 2000. Her sister subsequently entered into correspondence with the VEC and with this Department regarding the lecturer's superannuation entitlements. Following the transfer of superannuation functions of staff in institutes of technology to the Department of Education and Science in January 2001, it is this Department which now has regulatory responsibility for dealing with questions of superannuation in these institutions, including appeals by staff members against decisions made by the institutions.