Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 June 2012
47 Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he will bring forward legislation to prevent the rehiring of retired public servants who have taken a gratuity and who have pensions, which was promised in the Programme for Government; the reason for the delay in bringing forward such legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26234/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is no commitment in the Programme for Government to bring forward legislation to prevent the rehiring of retired public servants who have taken a gratuity and who have pensions.
The general policy is that staff should not be retained beyond retirement age and any re-engagement should be kept as limited as possible and should be for a very restricted period. Usually, the rehiring of retirees is related to completion of a specific task where their particular skill or experience is required in the short-term. Situations can arise where a particular issue requires a short-term specialist input in order to complete a task. In many instances the most appropriate and cost-effective way of solving a short-term problem is to bring in someone who has worked in the area and understands the background. In the vast majority of cases these re-hires are very short-term and project specific and it would not justify the expense of any more formal selection process. There are no plans to introduce such legislation as we need to retain a degree of flexibility in order to deal with situations as they arise. There are already protections in place vis-à-vis the requirement to have an excluding order and also the fact that abatement of salary applies in such cases.
