Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 270: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his attention has been drawn to the situation facing some former university lecturers who retired far in advance of 2010 who have had their pension payments cut as against the guarantee issued by him in budget 2010 to public servants that any person taking retirement would have their pension and lump sum entitlements based on their pre-pay cut salary, his views on this dichotomous situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9495/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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As the Deputy may know, the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009 introduced a pay cut with effect from 1 January 2010 for serving public servants. Section 3 of that Act provided that the pay cut did not affect pensions until a future date to be set by the Minister for Finance. That date was set as 29 February 2012 after which public service pensions coming into payment will be affected by the pay reduction.

The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010 provides that with effect from 1 January 2011 a former university lecturer or indeed any former public servant with a pension in payment or coming into payment on or before 29 February 2012 is subject to the Public Service Pension Reduction which applies on a progressive basis to public service pensions of over €12,000 per annum and is estimated to save €100 million in a full year.

In short, in a case such as the Deputy describes, where a public servant retired or retires before 29 February 2012 their pension was or is reduced, but was or is calculated on the pre-pay cut pay rate.

The PSPR is part of the budgetary targets contained in the joint EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support. Continued access to funding under the Programme is conditional upon the delivery of the budgetary adjustments agreed under the terms of the Programme and outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding.