Michael Ring
Ceist:1159 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo can buy into a Department pension. [1207/01]
Written Answers. - Departmental Pension.
I can clarify that the person referred to by the Deputy is employed under a scheme introduced by my Department in 1978 for the provision of full-time secretaries in primary and secondary schools. While my Department funds her salary, her employer is the managerial authority of Rice College, Westport.
In 1985, two pension schemes, a contributory pension scheme and a spouses' and children's pension scheme, were introduced for school secretaries employed under the 1978 scheme. An option was extended to all serving school secretaries, including the person referred to by the Deputy, to join the schemes or remain outside their scope. A form issued at that time to all schools employing a secretary under the 1978 scheme, requesting each secretary to declare whether he or she wished to participate in the pension schemes. The person referred to by the Deputy returned this form to the Department, having signed it on 12 December 1985, clearly stating that she did not wish to participate in the pension schemes.
I wish to apologise to the Deputy in respect of a reply to parliamentary Question No. 405 on 12 December last. The information contained in that reply mistakenly referred to secretaries employed by schools under the PESP scheme of additionalper capita grants.