asked the Minister for Finance if he will state the amount of the State contribution to the Civil Service superannuation scheme and the employee contribution on a percentage or other basis.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Civil Service Superannuation Scheme.
37.
: The Superannuation Acts, which prescribe the superannuation terms applicable to civil servants, do not provide for contributions by employees towards the benefits payable under those Acts. Provision is made annually in the Estimates for Public Services to meet the cost of superannuation payments to civil servants and the provision for the current year, including the cost of pension increases, is about £3.2 million.
: Is the Minister aware that some of the semi-State bodies who have a pension scheme are refusing to adjust the scheme and, in fact, the Minister for Transport and Power has stated that he is opposed to any adjustment unless there is a pound for pound contribution by the employees concerned?
: I do not understand the point. The question refers to civil servants.
: Yes.
: There is no deduction made from civil servants for superannuation purposes.
: That being so, is it not rather extraordinary that a Minister of State should say he would not agree to the adjustment of a manual employees scheme unless the people concerned pay pound for pound with the employers?
: I am talking here only about civil servants. There are lots of other bodies with different types of schemes. There are a number of organisations which have contributory pensions schemes where normally the employee pays in so much and the employer pays in so much; then the employee is entitled to a pension, and if he leaves the employment, he gets back what he has paid in.
: If the State can agree that civil servants are entitled to a pension without making any contribution, is it not strange that the Minister should refuse to sanction an increase for the manual workers unless there is a pound for pound contribution?
: The superannuation scheme in the Civil Service is a part of the whole pay structure. The civil servants argue that they are, in fact, making a contribution towards the superannuation scheme. There is no immediate deduction. They argue they are contributing towards the superannuation scheme, because if they were not, their pay would be higher. The Civil Service scheme is a special type of scheme which is an integral part of the whole salary structure. Other organisations, private companies, State companies and so on, have different types of superannuation schemes, most of which are contributory. A contributory scheme is very often more suitable for employees who do not have the sort of permanence that a civil servant has, because an employee may leave and, in those circumstances, he is repaid what he contributed.
: An occasional civil servant leaves, too.
Questions Nos. 38 and 39 postponed.