Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an issue that, as the Deputy will know, has been going on for a long time. It has been grappled with by four or five Governments at this stage. It has not been brought to resolution because there is a real difficulty around it. CE supervisors are of course entitled to the State contributory pension based on their PRSI payments. However, to be entitled to a public sector pension in the way that a nurse, civil servant or teacher might be, one must first be a public servant employed by a public body. Second, one must have paid pension contributions - a pension levy - throughout the person's working life in addition to PRSI. The difficulty is that CE scheme supervisors have done neither of these things. They have not been employed by a public body and have not paid a public sector pension levy throughout their working lives. If we were to concede the principle of giving public sector pensions to people who are not public servants and who never made public sector pension contributions, the knock-on effects would be enormous and unaffordable. The best solution is something in the vein of a gratuity or some sort of payment to recognise the fact that they did not have a pension fund. That is the kind of solution we are open to, but negotiations are not concluded.

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