Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013
350. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the percentage of public servants who earn more than €60,000 per annum; if the pension related deduction paid by these public sector workers at a rate of 10.5% of income above €60,000 is a temporary deduction, and if so, the length of time it will it be in place; and if the deduction is made from gross or net pay. [27691/13]
View answer351. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the proportion of pension related deductions paid by staff in the public sector earning less than €60,000 per annum. [27692/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 350 and 351 together.
The closest data currently available within the Department to that sought by the Deputy indicates that the percentage of employee numbers on a whole time equivalent basis (based on a whole time equivalent figure of 292,000) on a salary range of €60,000 or more, is 18%. I do not have a breakdown of the Pension Related Deduction (PRD) collected across income bands. For the Deputy's information, the PRD realises in the order of €1 billion per annum (including contributions from Local Authority employees and other non-Departmental employees on whom the deduction is levied). The PRD is applied to gross pay. The PRD was introduced on 1 March 2009 by the then Government as one of a range of measures to help address the economic crisis, and in particular, the serious imbalance in the public finances. While the deduction can undoubtedly be a significant imposition on many public servants, it is this Government's view that it is a necessary and proportionate measure given the exceptionally serious position of the public finances. As the Deputy will be aware the impact of the PRD measure was lessened with effect from 1 May 2009 by way of adjustments to the bands and rates, including an increased rate, from 10% to 10.5%, on the earnings band above €60,000. Those adjustments were particularly beneficial for lower paid public servants, in so far as they provided that the first €15,000 of annual earnings be made fully exempt from the deduction. I should also state that, as provided for in section 11 of the recently enacted Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2013, an adjustment in PRD will take place on 1 January 2014, when the 5% deduction rate applied to the band of annual income between €15,000 and €20,000 will decrease from 5% to 2.5%. The Deputy may wish to note that under the financial emergency legislation, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform must review the PRD and other emergency measures annually and report to the Oireachtas on such review.
