Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 526: To ask the Minister for Defence the reason retired army non-commissioned officers and privates have to date in 2006 not received increases in their pensions arising from benchmarking and the last round of national pay agreements despite the fact that such increases were due from July 2005 and that retired commissioned officers received their pension increases in July 2005; and if he will ensure that retired non-commissioned officers and privates receive the pension increases due to them. [4235/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with established public service pensions policy, the pensions of former members of the Permanent Defence Force, PDF, are revised in line with relevant increases in the pay of serving personnel holding corresponding rank. The benefit of the various general and benchmarking pay increases awarded to serving NCOs and privates under the Sustaining Progress social partnership agreement 2003 to 2005 has been extended to the pensions of their retired counterparts, up to and including the 2% general round increase effective from 1 December 2004.

Under the mid-term review of Sustaining Progress, a new pay agreement was announced for the public service in June 2004, subject to the usual verification procedures. This provides for payment of the final instalment of benchmarking effective from 1 June 2005, equivalent to one quarter of the recommended pay awards, together with phased general pay increases of 1.5% from 1 June 2005, 1.5% from 1 December 2005 and 2.5% from 1 June 2006. Application of these pay increases to serving NCOs and privates of the PDF is subject to, among other things, acceptance by their representative association, PDFORRA, of the pay and related terms arising from the mid-term review of Sustaining Progress, which they have been offered within the established negotiation machinery. In that regard, I understand that the PDFORRA membership is currently balloting on the offer. Acceptance of the new pay agreement would pave the way for corresponding increases in the pensions of retired NCOs and privates.