Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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101. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the spouses' and children's superannuation scheme. [9722/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Most pensionable public servants recruited before the commencement of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme are required as a condition of appointment to be members of (i) a "Main Superannuation Scheme" which provides for the member's own pension benefits and (ii) an associated Spouses' and Children's Scheme which covers pensions for spouses, civil partners and children. The public service Spouses' and Children's Schemes effectively provide insurance for contingent benefits. The schemes are designed on a group insurance basis and the member contribution rate is structured accordingly. The total cost of the schemes is borne, normally on a 50/50 basis, by the employer and employees.

The Commission on Public Service Pensions, in its Final Report in 2001, considered the question of compulsory membership for single people and the non-refundable nature of the contributions paid by them and decided not to recommend any change in the foregoing scheme rules.

More recent recruits, who are members of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme are similarly positioned in terms of being compulsorily signed-up to arrangements which comprise both personal and dependant pension benefits, although in their cases the spouses' and children's benefits are an integral part of the main scheme established under the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012.

I have no plans to revisit the issue of membership of associated Spouses' and Children's Schemes or the provision of dependant pension benefits in relation to single members of public service pension schemes.