Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 616: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of retired civil or public servants that have been rehired by his Department since March 2012; their positions and accompanying salaries. [36752/12]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 617: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality 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. [36768/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 616 and 617 together.

The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009 provided for the superannuation benefits of public servants, who retired within a 'grace period' which ended on 29 February 2012, to be unaffected by the pay reductions introduced for all public servants with effect from 1 January 2010 under that Act.

In the period 1 January 2012 to 29 February 2012, a total of 475 staff retired from my Department and the agencies under my remit, including An Garda Síochána.

Of these 475, only one staff member who was a Governor in the Prison Service has been re-employed in the Prison Service on a fixed term contract to meet pressing operational and transformation requirements. No other civil or public servant who retired this year within the 'grace period' has been re-employed by my Department or agencies under its remit.

It should be noted that on occasion, retired public servants may be engaged mainly on a short term basis because of their particular knowledge and expertise in a particular area, for example, to serve on interview boards, complete investigations etc.