Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 14 Oct 2003

Vol. 572 No. 3

Written Answers. - Pension Provisions.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

457 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his Department has calculated the cost of addressing the inadequate pension of members of the Garda Síochána who retired before 1 January 1993; if so, the estimated cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23003/03]

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

458 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will take action to address the inadequate pension of members of the Garda Síochána who retired before 1 January 1993; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23004/03]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 457 and 458 together.

I do not agree that an annual pension of €17,950, the current annual basic pension of a retired member of Garda rank with full service, could be regarded as inadequate. The estimated annual cost of including the rent allowance element in the pensions of gardaí who retired prior to 1 October 1982 would be €217,212. The estimated annual cost of including the allowance in the pensions of garda spouses and children would be €204,826. The estimated annual cost of including the unsocial hours allowance element in the pensions of gardaí who retired prior to 1 January 1993 would be €5,280,912. The estimated annual cost of including the allowance in the pensions of garda spouses and children would be €931,594, giving a total estimated cost of €6,634,544 per annum.

The background to this issue is that a 1983 arbitration finding recommended that certain Garda allowances should be made pensionable with effect from 1 October 1982. The finding was applied only to personnel who retired on or after that date. The pensionability of the garda unsocial hours allowance was treated in a similar way when it was introduced with effect from 1 January 1994. The position was consistent with that in other areas of the public service where in the context of making allowances pensionable, the benefits were confined to those retiring after a specified date and did not extend to pensioners who retired before that date.

The Commission on Public Service Pensions, an independent body set up in 1996 with terms of reference to examine and report on the pension terms of public servants employed in the Civil Service, Defence Forces, Garda Síochána, edu cation, health and local authority service, as part of its deliberations, examined the specific issue of the pensionability of allowances for those who had retired prior to the implementation dates in respect of members of the Garda Síochána and others. Having addressed the arguments involved, the commission did not recommend any increase in pension for the groups involved.

As the Deputy is aware, the Government has decided to accept the thrust of the package of reforms recommended by the commission and is awaiting a report from the implementation working group in relation to the operational details of same. This report is in the process of being finalised at present.

Having regard to the commission's report, I have no plans to introduce amending legislation at this stage. It should be noted that the extension sought in relation to the garda allowances could not be confined to the gardaí and there could be considerable additional costs with regard to allowances in other areas of the public sector, notably the Defence Forces, teachers and prison officers. A concession in these areas could impose a very significant cost on the State – in excess of approximately €12 million a year and an accrued liability of about €152 million, based on 1997 costs for garda and Defence Forces pensioners as outlined in the final report of the Commission on Public Service Pensions.