Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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28. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department compiled data from other European countries on the different ways public sector and civil servants' pensions are administered; the amount they pay on average per employee; the rules they have for public pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18704/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department is not involved in compiling in any kind of systematic fashion the class of information to which the Deputy refers. However, the Department has access to databases containing information on public service pension terms and administration arrangements operated by organisations such as the OECD and the European Institute of Public Administration which may be consulted as the need arises. That is aside from any direct contacts that my officials will make with relevant officials from other European states from time to time to examine any particular aspect of their pension arrangements.

However, I should remind the Deputy that comparative studies of this nature are far from straightforward. A comprehensive and thorough analysis of administration arrangements and pension terms in other European countries, which included a comparison with our own practices in the Irish public service, was carried out as part of work leading to the Report of the Commission on Public Service (2000). The report noted that it was important to acknowledge that pension arrangements in any range of countries will reflect the comparative economic, social and political conditions in those countries. Specifically, the Commission warned:

'In a widely based review such as this it is difficult to draw firm conclusions. Each country has its own distinctive historical, social and economic characteristics. These help to determine the relative importance of the public service within the economy, the processes for determining pay and conditions for public servants, and the state social security system, all of which combined impact upon the public service pension system in each country.'

I think the Deputy would agree that the caveats raised by the expert group regarding such studies are valid, and that the concerns they raise should be properly taken into account in the interpretation made on foot of any comparative analyses of this nature in the future.