Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I do not have an overall figure but if one takes the annual pension paid to an individual compared with what he or she would have received if he or she was still in the Defence Forces, there is a saving of approximately €17,000 per individual per annum. That is based on a comparison between an annualised pension payment and an annualised salary payment. It is not pure salary because, as members are aware, there are a number of allowances in the Defence Forces which are on occasion misunderstood in the media as some form of perk. Enlisted personnel are paid their basic salaries according to rank and the allowances are paid in the context of specialties they may possess or services, such as service overseas, in which they may engage. This figure is produced by averaging out the figures.