The Pension Related Deduction (PRD) is known as the pension levy. This was a savings measure introduced in the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act, 2009, brought in by the Exchequer to reduce the costs of pensions to the State. It only applies to people belonging to public service pension schemes and does not apply to semi-states or the private sector. Irrespective of the Minister’s shareholdings in each of the covered institutions, no public service pension schemes exist in those institutions and therefore the pension levy does not apply. Further information can be found on www.per.gov.ie/pensions where documents and FAQs on the PRD can be found. I do not have sufficient information on pay rates and distribution to provide a full answer to the deputy’s question, for example the levy would only impact Irish tax residents, and I do not have a breakdown of Irish and foreign tax residents in the employ of each covered institution, nor would I have awareness of the individual circumstances of each employee and how that would affect the bands relevant to the pension levy in each case. As the Deputy will be aware the Government has commissioned a Remuneration Review across the Covered Banks and this is designed to inform future policy recommendations in this area.
