Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 30:

In page 15, before section 13, to insert the following new section:

“PART 2
REPEAL OF SECTIONS 6 & 7 OF THE SUPERANNUATION AND PENSIONS ACT 1963

13.--Sections 6 and 7 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963 are repealed and this provision shall come into effect immediately on the passing of this Act.”.

These amendments are straightforward. They deal with the pension calculations of former senior civil servants and county and city managers. They seek to apply retrospectively to them the changes the Minister has recently introduced for new entrants to the public service. They are aimed at curbing pension payments to former Secretaries General and city and county managers. Their purpose relates to the point we have been making all along, that is, if one wants to make savings, one must start at the top and reduce the pay and pensions of those who earn most. The Minister has articulated previously that this cannot be done retrospectively and I imagine he will say as much again. I call on him to elaborate on why exactly it cannot be done retrospectively and why he will probably not accept the amendments.