Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will consider withdrawing the special TLAC pension provisions of an additional lump sum payment of half a years salary and up to ten added years enabling early retirement on a full pension uniquely awarded to a number of existing secretaries general, city and county managers. [51547/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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As I said in previous replies on this matter, Secretaries General appointed under the TLAC process have exit arrangements which reflect the Government Decision applicable at the time of their appointment and these form part of their terms of employment. On 25 October 2011 this Government revised the exit arrangements to apply to Secretaries General newly appointed thereafter. Under the revised terms, Secretaries General appointed after that date no longer benefit from immediate payment of pension and lump sum at the end of their term (unless they have already reached pension age); nor will they benefit from notional added years for pension purposes. The previous terms continue to apply to currently serving Secretaries General who were appointed under those terms. As I said before, the advice of the Office of the Attorney General is that the Government does not have discretion to change those terms.

The TLAC exit arrangements do not apply directly to City and County Managers. However, the Government Decision of 25 October 2011 provided that their exit terms should be revised in line with the revised terms for Secretaries General. Accordingly, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, who has primary responsibility for the superannuation and severance arrangements of City and County Managers, made the necessary changes under S.I. 291 of 2012, to apply to Managers newly appointed after 26 July 2012.