Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 15 Nov 2001

Vol. 544 No. 2

Written Answers. - Pension Provisions.

Liam Burke

Ceist:

41 Mr. L. Burke asked the Minister for Education and Science the problems identified by the teachers unions on the issue of pensionability of the supervision and substitution payments; the estimated costs of these proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28238/01]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

There are general rules about pensionability which were best summarised in the recent report of the commission on public service pensions. The report states that:

The general rule under public service pension schemes is that allowances in the nature of pay are pensionable if they are of a permanent nature or are for extra or inconvenient hours of duty, if a regular and recurring feature of the job and a compulsory condition of service, e.g. unsocial hours duties and shift allowance.

The report goes on to rule out the possibility of extending pensionability to overtime generally. While there may be instances where overtime is pensionable it applies only if that overtime is compulsory.

Teachers have insisted on a scheme which is voluntary in nature and which will not be a regular and compulsory part of the teachers job. Teachers may volunteer or opt out of the scheme each year and the commitment of hours by those teachers who volunteer may also vary from year to year. In these circumstances the payment cannot be considered for superannuation purposes.