Since 29 February 2012, one member of staff — the Chief Medical Adviser in my Department — has been retained on a temporary contract beyond retirement on a salary scale of €83,887.30-€102,152 per annum. His salary is abated to take account of his pension rate of payment. The decision to re-employ the Chief Medical Adviser was taken due to his specific skills and experience, the difficulty and long lead-in time for replacing such skills and the critical importance of ensuring continuity and a high level of service to customers of the Department. The Pensions Board, which is under the aegis of my Department, has employed on temporary contracts two people who were previously employed by An Garda Síochána and who are in receipt of Garda pensions. The salary scales for the two staff are €46,081-€58,294 and €65,185-€80,678.