Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 517: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason for the delay in refunding spouses and children's contributions to single teachers who retired on 31 August 2005; and when said refund will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Dublin who retired on that date. [4400/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Under the spouses' and children's scheme introduced for male teachers in 1969, and extended to female teachers in 1981, a refund of contributions is made to a teacher who is single at the time of retirement. A full refund is made where the teacher has never been married; a partial refund is made where the teacher's spouse is already deceased. When such contributions are repaid, 20% of the gross amount of the contributions is deducted in respect of income tax, in accordance with Department of Finance regulations.

Delays in establishing the actual amount of contributions paid over the years can occur where a difficulty is encountered in accessing old payroll records. A review of the procedures in place for dealing with these refunds is currently under way with a view to reducing the processing time involved.

In the case of the teacher to whom the Deputy has referred, and who has never been married, I can confirm that the total amount of contributions paid has been verified and it is expected that the refund will issue to him in the course of the coming week.