Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 240: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons employed in the public sector distinguishing the pension contribution made by different categories of worker and indicating the corresponding employer contribution. [34871/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Finance has statutory responsibility for Civil Service pensions only. The statutory responsibility for other public service and public sector pension schemes rests with the relevant Ministers. The normal usage is that the term "public service" does not include commercial State companies while the term "public sector" does include them.

In general, public service pension schemes operate on a pay as you go basis. There is, therefore, no explicit employer contribution. A few funded schemes are in place in non-commercial bodies but they are more common in commercial State bodies. The contribution rates and benefits for these schemes vary from scheme to scheme. The contribution rules vary depending on whether a person entered public service employment before 6 April 1995. I have been advised that the contribution rates in the main public service schemes are set out as in the table.

A new pension scheme will apply to new entrant military personnel who join the Defence Forces on or after 1 April 2004. The terms of this scheme are under discussion with the Defence Forces representative associations. It is envisaged that contribution rates under the new scheme will follow standard public service pension lines.

Both the health and education sectors have the same rates as the local authority sector. A small number of employees who are employed in VECs and institutes of technology and did not opt to join the revised local government superannuation scheme 1990 retain benefits which vary from the standard and pay contributions at 4%. In relation to the spouses' and children's scheme, all teachers who are members of the scheme post-1995 pay contributions to that scheme at a rate of 1.5% of gross pensionable pay.

In local authorities the only sizeable exception is 721 members of the local government superannuation scheme whose benefits vary from the standard and whose contribution rate is 4%.

In general, non-commercial State bodies are similar to the Civil Service for post-1995 staff, although some bodies have contributory schemes for pre-1995 staff. Contribution rates in commercial State bodies vary from scheme to scheme.

The numbers serving in the public service are as follows: