Vol. 526 No. 6
218 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Finance the way in which the bench-marking process as contained within the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness is to be applied to public service pensioners; if the principle of parity will be maintained; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27644/00]
The Deputy will be aware that in its Action Programme for the Millennium, the Government undertook to protect public service pensions. In November 1997, the Government announced that the benefit of the restructuring pay deals under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work would apply on the basis of parity to public servants who had retired before the commencement dates of those deals, but with a guaranteed minimum increase of 3% or 2% in the case of any pensioners who had already received an advance payment of 1%. All subsequent relevant pay increases have been passed on to pensioners on the basis of parity, including the special pay increase of 2% under the Partnership 2000 Agreement.
