Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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196. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of public servants who have availed of the interim arrangement put in place to allow those workers who turn 65 years of age to be rehired for a period of one year until they reach the 66 years of age required for the State pension while new legislation to extend the compulsory retirement age is advanced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46780/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I deal with staff in the civil service. Other Ministers are responsible for staff in the wider public service.

The Government decided in December 2017 that the retirement age of civil servants would be extended to 70 years of age and that between the date of the Government decision and the enactment of the legislation, civil servants with a retirement age of 65 could be retained until they reached the age of eligibility for the Contributory State Pension currently age 66.

My officials did a survey of civil service departments/offices earlier this year to ascertain how many civil servants were retained under circular 21 of 2017. From this survey I understand that 73 civil servants have been retained under this circular until the end of June 2018.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to make an allowance for women who took time out from work from the Civil Service on Civil Service-approved schemes to raise children and whose pension is affected as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46984/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Under civil service pension schemes, the pension calculation is, in general, based on pensionable remuneration and total pensionable service of the employee. The focus on service is a fundamental element of defined benefit occupational pension schemes, not just in the civil and public service but in the private sector too, and there are no plans at present to change this.

There are arrangements in place for civil servants who are about to embark on a career break, for the purposes of raising children or otherwise, to apply in advance to have that period of leave reckoned for pension purposes, subject to the normal rules of the civil service purchase of notional service scheme, including that they pay the full cost of the service purchased. Furthermore, civil servants have the option to enter into purchase arrangements, subject to scheme rules, to buy back service during the course of their serving career, which have the effect of covering periods of absences from work for pension purposes.

While these arrangements are established for members of pre-existing civil service schemes (i.e. pre-Single Pension Scheme introduction, 2013), regulations are currently being drafted by this Department setting out rules for purchase under the Single Pension Scheme.