Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (Revised)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised)
2:00 am
Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
It was not an automated issue. The Department last year was contacted by the NSSO regarding the approach that should be applied to all allowances. That followed an appeal by a particular person involved. The Deputy asked about the methodology. There was a period of interaction over a series of months last year and then, in quarter 1 of this year, the broader issue evolved to become what it now is. At the end of April, I was informed about an issue relating to the scope of this, which actually expanded in number through the month of May. Even in the week before I outlined this publicly, the pool had increased to 13,000. That is the number as it is right now, and that is what the NSSO said is the pool that has to be checked. This related to an individual who questioned their particular pension entitlement and it evolved from there.
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