Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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360. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding prison officers who are injured in the course of their work and who, as a result, are obliged to retire early on medical grounds; the arrangements in place to allow persons to receive a full pension where they have not worked up their full years' service, and any other compensation arrangements that are in place, if the full pension is not granted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29604/15]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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361. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding prison officers who have to retire early on medical grounds as a result of a work-related injury; if injury warranty years can be granted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29605/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 360 and 361 together.

I am informed by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that it is bound by the guidelines for the award of added years for pension purposes as provided by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and by the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous) Act 2004. Officers must be certified by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to retire on ill health grounds. Prison officers can normally retire between the ages of 50 and 55 years if they have 30 years of actual service in the prison service. Officers aged 55 years and over can retire regardless of service.

Where an officer retires having completed at least 5 years’ actual service due to a permanent disability which was not self-inflicted, notional service may, at the discretion of the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform, be added to his/her actual service on the following basis for the purposes of calculating retirement lump sum and personal pension in the case of retirement on grounds of ill-health:

(a)officers with between 5 and 10 years actual reckonable service are credited with an equivalent amount of added service subject to such credited service not exceeding the additional reckonable service which would have accrued if the officer had remained in service up to age 60;

(b) officers with between 10 and 20 years actual reckonable service are credited with the more favourable of

(i) an amount of service equal to the difference between actual reckonable service and 20 years, subject to such credited service not exceeding the additional reckonable service which would have accrued if the officer had remained in service up to age 60; or

(ii) 6 years and 243 days (i.e. two-thirds of a year), subject to such credited service not exceeding the additional service which would have accrued if the officer had remained in service up to minimum retirement age;

(c) officers with more than 20 years actual reckonable service are credited with the same award of added service as at (b)(ii) above.

Requests for Injury Warrant are assessed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform taking into account the Chief Medical Officers advise.

If an officer suffers an injury as a result of an incident or assault while carrying out their duties, they may be entitled to seek redress through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. Where an officer is injured as a result of a fall or other such occurrence, they may be entitled to seek redress through the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.