David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of women who were affected by the marriage bar; the number of women who will not be entitled to a pension in their own right as a result of the bar; his views on the implications of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21477/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that I have primary responsibility for Civil Service pensions. The position is that, prior to 31 July 1973, the law required female employees to resign on marriage. In such cases, employees under pension age who had at least five years service (six years prior to 1 January 1968) qualified for marriage gratuities of 1/12th of salary per year of service, subject to a maximum of one year's salary. In the period 1962 to 1973 a total of 1,240 marriage gratuities were paid. This figure does not include officers who resigned on marriage but who did not have the requisite service to qualify for the gratuity as such records were not kept at the time.

The Marriage bar was removed in 1973. Various initiatives, providing for reinstatement, in certain circumstances, of persons who had resigned on account of this were then introduced by my predecessors. These initiatives were formally removed in 1996 following a successful challenge that they discriminated in favour of a particular category of women.

The requirement to resign on marriage was part of the law in force at the time and was subsequently changed in line with developments in employment, equality law etc. I have no plans to change the Superannuation Acts to provide pensions for officers who resigned on marriage before 1973.