Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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827. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the pension entitlements of a person (details supplied). [24394/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Question relates to an individual who undertook an overseas volunteering assignment for the Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO) between 1981 and 1983, and who is requesting that pension credits for this period be paid. In 2004, APSO was integrated with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The pension contributions involved would therefore fall to be paid by this Department, if applicable. The Public Service Pension Scheme for Volunteer Development Workers was introduced in 1995 by the Department of Finance. It provided for pension contributions to be paid for qualifying public servants. This scheme allows public servants, in defined circumstances, to have their pension contributions paid while volunteering overseas for a minimum of six consecutive months and up to a maximum of two years on an authorised leave of absence or career break from the public service. There is a requirement that these assignments must be co-funded by Irish Aid, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Where the Department is satisfied from evidence provided that a qualifying assignment was undertaken since 1995, it retrospectively covers the superannuation costs involved. Such costs are calculated by the parent Department of the volunteering public servant and are forwarded through Comhlámh, the Association for Returned Volunteers, to my Department. I am informed that cases have arisen where volunteers have come forward years after their assignment and in such cases, where satisfactory evidence is available, the Department has retrospectively paid the superannuation contributions involved.

For overseas volunteering assignments undertaken prior to 1995, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade requires documentary evidence of an agreement with APSO to pay superannuation costs in respect of public servants who were on a career break or leave of absence at the time of their assignments. I am informed that such an agreement is not on file in relation to this individual. I have asked my officials to make contact with the agency he volunteered with to seek clarification and to ascertain if it has any documentation confirming that an agreement to pay these contributions existed. I have also written to the Deputy directly in response to a recent representation on this question.