Vol. 551 No. 2
166 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Defence the further consideration which has been given by him to making the military service allowance fully reckonable for superannuation purposes for all Defence Forces pensioners and not just those who retired on or after 1 August 1990; his views on whether it is unjust that it is not currently taken into account; and the action he proposes to take regarding this matter. [9761/02]
168 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Defence if the military service allowance will be provided to the people who served in the Defence Forces and retired before 1 August 1990. [9816/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 168 together.
Arising from a recommendation made in 1990 by the Commission on Remuneration and Conditions of Service in the Defence Forces, the Gleeson Commission, military service allowance was made pensionable in the case of personnel retiring on or after 1 August 1990. This approach was fully consistent with settled public service pensions policy which provides that the benefit of an allowance being made pensionable for serving personnel does not extend to existing pensioners.
More recently, the Commission on Public Service Pensions specifically addressed the issue of the pensionability of allowances, including the MSA, and the consequences for pensioners generally in its final report which was published in January 2001. However, having considered the arguments advanced by the groups affected, together with longstanding public service pensions policy in that context and the substantial cost implications involved, the commission did not recommend any increase for the pensioners concerned. No change in existing policy on this matter has been authorised in the context of the Government's consideration of the commission's final report.
I should say that the commission, whose report is the first comprehensive examination of public service pension arrangements since the foundation of the State, was an independent body. It had invited submissions from interested parties through an advertisement in the national press in September 1996 and I understand that groups representative of military pensioners were among those who made submissions and were met by the commission.
