Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

On section 3, I wish to raise the issue of benefits. The Bill lists a number of bodies, the pension schemes of which have been transferred, including Trinity College, University College Dublin, University College Cork, National University of Ireland, Galway and National University of Ireland, Maynooth. The semi-State bodies concerned include Forfás, Bord Bia, the Arts Council, the Institute of Public Administration, the Economic and Social Research Institute, Fáilte Ireland and so forth. Does this mean the employees of such institutions now will be eligible for the same pension as that which obtains in the Civil Service or in local authorities? Most civil servants, usually when they are 65 years old, receive a full pension of half their salary as well as a lump sum of one and a half times pay, for which they are obliged to serve 40 years. Do special categories exist within some of the aforementioned institutions in which employees may be, for example, on seven-year contracts or may have special arrangements for pension purposes? Does this mean the taxpayer now will take over any special pension arrangements that differ from those which obtain in the Civil Service as I outlined previously? Will such employees now be eligible for a Civil Service pension? Will they be obliged to serve for 40 years and until they are 65 years of age before qualifying for a pension? Alternatively, does this mean the taxpayer will be obliged to fulfil special arrangements that have been made? I refer to cases in which some of those affected may have been paying into pension funds other than those of which we know involving the Civil Service and local authorities.