Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

170. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of both civil and public servants who retired and-or received their relevant Civil Service or public sector pension in 2015 and 2016; the number in both categories who were granted added years; the average salary for both categories on retirement; the estimated annual and long-term cost of these added years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48711/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There are various arrangements in operation throughout the Civil and Public Service which can provide in certain circumstances for added notional years of reckonable service when calculating superannuation benefits.

- Professional Added Years Schemes: These schemes apply to certain professional, technical and specialist posts in both the Civil and Public Service. Subject to certain conditions, they provide for the granting of added years in cases where the minimum essential requirements of a competition are such that they would prohibit a candidate from entering the civil/public service in sufficient time to acquire maximum service and, by extension, the candidate would be unable to accrue maximum superannuation benefits.

- Ill-Health/Death in Service: Added years may be granted in the Civil and Public Service in cases of retirement on the grounds of ill-health or where a Survivor's pension is being awarded in circumstances where the civil or public servant dies while still in service.

- Section 6 of the Superannuation Act 1909 and Sections 6 and 7 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963 set out rules governing the early retirement of Civil Servants as a result of abolition of office or for the purpose of facilitating improvements in order to effect greater efficiency and economy in the organisation of a Department. Section 6 of the 1963 Act provides for the granting of added years. (These provisions may apply to Secretaries General at the end of their contracts; similar provisions apply to City & County Managers under the Local Government Superannuation Scheme. These arrangements were restricted by the Government in 2011.). In the wider Public Service these provisions serve as guidelines in dealing with similar cases.

- Chief Executive Officers of Non-Commercial State Sponsored Bodies may, in certain circumstances and subject to certain conditions, be granted added years at the end of their contract.

As regards the detailed information sought, it should be noted that, once a pension is calculated and comes into payment, a breakdown of the various service components upon which that pension is based is not retained centrally nor readily available. It would take an inordinate amount of official time and effort to obtain the information as it would necessitate examination of the files of all retirees in the period concerned.