Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Question 47: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he will bring forward legislation to prevent the rehiring of retired public servants who have taken a gratuity and who have pensions, which was promised in the Programme for Government; the reason for the delay in bringing forward such legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26234/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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There is no commitment in the Programme for Government to bring forward legislation to prevent the rehiring of retired public servants who have taken a gratuity and who have pensions.

The general policy is that staff should not be retained beyond retirement age and any re-engagement should be kept as limited as possible and should be for a very restricted period. Usually, the rehiring of retirees is related to completion of a specific task where their particular skill or experience is required in the short-term. Situations can arise where a particular issue requires a short-term specialist input in order to complete a task. In many instances the most appropriate and cost-effective way of solving a short-term problem is to bring in someone who has worked in the area and understands the background. In the vast majority of cases these re-hires are very short-term and project specific and it would not justify the expense of any more formal selection process. There are no plans to introduce such legislation as we need to retain a degree of flexibility in order to deal with situations as they arise. There are already protections in place vis a vis the requirement to have an excluding order and also the fact that abatement of salary applies in such cases.