Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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211. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is aware of the concerns of the Alliance of Retired Public Servants in relation to the slowness of the pension restoration, as indicated, which is not aligned with that pertaining to pay restoration proposals; if a commitment will be given that these pensions will be fully restored, and thereby maintain pension increase parity with pay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39467/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I and my officials have met with representatives of the Alliance of Retired Public Servants (ARPS) on a regular basis. I note that my proposals to Government earlier this year in respect of the amelioration of the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR) burden on pensioners, and which now form part of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2015, were welcomed at that time by representatives of the Alliance. These proposals deliver on my commitment to  ease the burden of the PSPR as early as economic and fiscal circumstances allowed me to do so, with a focus on benefitting impacted lower-income pensions proportionately more.

Under the Financial Emergency in the Public Interest Bill 2015, the Government intends, by 2018, to achieve a phased restoration of most of the public service pension cuts imposed under the financial emergency legislation. In specific terms, the Bill will deliver part-restoration of the PSPR cuts in three stages effective from 1 January 2016, 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2018. When fully rolled-out from 1 January 2018, this means that all public service pensions in payment with pre-PSPR values of up to €34,132 will be fully exempt from PSPR, while those pensioners not fully removed from the reach of PSPR will, in general, benefit by €1,680 per year. This represents a major amelioration of the PSPR burden over a short time horizon, at the end of which the great majority of public service pensioners, with the exception of those on the higher levels of pension income, will no longer be affected by PSPR. This  significant level of restoration is more beneficial, in terms of both timing and proportion, compared with the proposed salary and PRD restoration to serving public servants.