Mr. David Moloney:

I thank the Deputy for the question. We have a policy in place on that since 2011. The December 2011 decision on this sets out what to do with retired Secretaries General and it offers a number of options. In practice the option to extend the term of Secretaries General has often been taken. There is the option of reassigning them within the Civil Service and public service and the option of seconding them to another position in the Civil Service, in the public service or in an international institution is also there. The 2011 decision is clear that the object is not to make the retirement of Secretaries General at the end of their terms before preserved pension age the standard and usual practice. I understand the question but I see it slightly differently, in terms of it being part of the terms and conditions under which the posts are advertised. There is a clear understanding that at the end of your term, these different options exist to take you up to preserved pension age, which is what both of the cases we discussed today involve. In explaining that policy, that is seen in an overall context where it would potentially be difficult to recruit people into those roles if they did not have a path at the end of their terms. That is something the performance review group has identified as an issue. It is also something the de Buitléir group that the Government has recently established to review senior public service recruitment and pay processes is looking at. The treatment of Secretaries General at end of term in this context is one of the issues the group will look at, among the gamut of processes around the appointment of and remuneration for Secretaries General.