Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 November 2005
732 Mr. Bruton asked the Minister for Defence the arrangements under which years of Army service can be linked for pension purposes with years with Aer Lingus in circumstances where the person involved received no gratuity from the Defence Forces in respect of the years service that is pre-1953. [32430/05]
View answerBoth Aer Lingus and the Defence Forces are members of the public sector transfer scheme which provides for the reckoning by each participating organisation of earlier pensionable service with any other member of the transfer scheme. Participation in the scheme is voluntary and Aer Lingus decided to become a member of the scheme with effect from 1 June 1973. As a result, the company is obliged to reckon all prior pensionable service in the case of its employees who left other member organisations, including the Defence Forces, on or after that date and subsequently joined Aer Lingus. As a member of the scheme, Aer Lingus could also, on a purely voluntary basis, agree to reckon prior service in the case of its employees who left other member organisations prior to 1 June 1973. In the event, Aer Lingus exercised this voluntary option only in respect of former Defence Forces personnel who had service during the emergency period from 1939 to 1946 or the period 9 September 1968 to 31 May 1973. In this regard, Aer Lingus was approved on 9 September 1968 as a member of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963, which was the forerunner of the present transfer scheme.
