Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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453. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 511 of 16 October 2018, if the additional superannuation contribution, ASC, is netted off pension costs only and not netted against pay for the 2019 health Vote on page 217 of the budget 2019 expenditure report. [47172/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Up to and including 2018, pension related deductions (PRD) were netted against pay. As published each year in the REV, the net pay figure was gross pay less PRD, and the net pensions figure was gross pensions less superannuation contributions.

In 2019, as part of the Public Service Stability Agreement, PRD will convert to Additional Superannuation Contributions (ASC). As a result, the net pay figure is effectively the gross pay figure as there is no deduction to be taken. The ASC is netted off pensions costs instead of pay for the 2019 Health Vote, along with the existing superannuation contributions.

This explains why the pay figure is significantly increased, and the pension figure significantly decreased for the 2019 Health Vote as laid out on page 2017 of the Budget Expenditure Report.