John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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420. To ask the Minister for Defence the names of those consulted relative to the change of pension payments from the 20th of each month to the 30th; if he has dealt with any hardship cases arising from this change; and if the phase-in period will be extended beyond six months. [44476/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I would refer the Deputy to my reply to the House on 15 October 2013 to Question No. 294 which gives the background to this move. I should mention that when I approved the proposal to resume paying Defence Forces pensions at the end of the month, I asked my officials to arrange to have this done on a phased basis to take account of the fact that people may have organised their financial affairs around the 20th of the month. The move was then notified in advance to officials of the three main representative associations concerned in February 2013 in order to get their feedback. This was done as part of the regular, ongoing interaction between my Department officials and the associations; specifically, the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women (ONE), the Irish United Nations Veterans Association (IUNVA) and the Association of Retired Commissioned Officers (ARCO). I understand that they in turn informed their respective memberships. The associations did raise some concerns with my officials, including the timeframe for implementation of the move and the impact on banking and bill-paying transaction dates. Insofar as the Department could, those concerns were taken on board. No hardship cases have been brought to my Department’s attention in relation to the move and there are no plans to extend phasing of the move beyond the six months already notified to pensioners.