Vol. 403 No. 4
113 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline the criterion (a) for the granting of an extension of service after the age of 65 years and (b) after 70 years of age; and whether the same criterion is used in all Departments and in the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Officers may be retained beyond the age of 65 (a) on grounds of hardship; to qualify on grounds of hardship an officer's income on retirement must fall below a certain threshold — the same threshold applies in all cases; (b) on grounds of public interest; (c) for the purposes of increasing pension, lump sum or gratuity (for a maximum of three months only and subject to prescribed conditions).
The criteria applied in the granting of extensions of service beyond the age of 70 are similar to those applied in granting extensions beyond the age of 65. The retention of an officer beyond the age of 70 is subject to particular review by the parent Department having regard to health and efficiency and requires special certification by the personnel officer. Since 1987 all extensions of service require the sanction of my Department and the same criteria are used in assessing all applications.
