I propose to answer Questions Nos. 269 to 272, inclusive, together.
At this juncture in the annual Budget cycle, my Department is not in a position to produce detailed costings of scenario-based proposals for adjustments to existing impositions on public service salaries and pensions, such as the Pension Related Deduction (PRD) and the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR). The Deputy's scenario in respect of the PRD would be particularly challenging in terms of costing on account of its complexity. This complexity arises from recourse to an eight-band tiered deduction structure instead of the current four-band structure, significant departures from existing band boundaries, and both increases and decreases in the percentage rates. Furthermore, it is possible that the Exchequer would experience net losses, not net savings, under the proposal, given that substantial rate reductions are proposed on the first €60,000 of salary.
As already indicated, my Department is not in a position to supply a detailed costing in relation to the PSPR adjustments which the Deputy has proposed. However, by drawing on previously undertaken costings work, it is possible to ascribe an approximate order-of-magnitude savings figure of a further €5 million to the PSPR proposals made by the Deputy. This approximate and tentative €5 million PSPR savings estimate arises very substantially from the Deputy's proposal in Question No. 269 in respect of pensions awarded up to the end of February 2012. The estimate is not subject to significant variation in respect of the separate PSPR scenarios advanced in the Deputy’s Questions No. 270 and 271 in respect of pensions awarded between 1 March 2012 and the end of August 2014.
