Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 315: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of retired civil or public servants that have been rehired by his Department since March 2012; their positions and accompanying salaries. [36751/12]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 316: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of retired civil or public servants that have been retained by his Department since March 2012 on a short term contract or on a consultancy basis where normal abatement rules to not apply. [36767/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 315 and 316 together.

At the request of the Chairman of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, my Department re-engaged, on a part-time basis, one Principal Officer who retired in February 2012 and who had represented the Department on the Committee prior to his retirement.

An all-inclusive fee of €1,500 was sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure to cover the cost of completing this work, based on an estimated requirement of up to 10 working days. Any travel and subsistence costs incurred in fulfilling this role will be reimbursed by my Department.

Under the abatement rules the officer's pension together with the fee of €1,500 does not breach the salary received prior to retirement, the issue of abatement does not arise in this instance.