Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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140. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the estimated cost of restoring the supplementary pension for post-2013 entrants to the Defence Forces. [27843/19]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The occupational pension scheme terms of post-1 January 2013 new entrants to the public service, including the Permanent Defence Force (PDF), are governed by the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012. All first-time new entrants to pensionable public service employment on or after that date are members of the ‘Single Scheme’.

The terms and rules of the Single Scheme, which are fundamentally different to previous superannuation public service arrangements, make no provision for the concept or award of supplementary pensions for any new entrants joining any public service group from 1^stJanuary 2013 onwards.

As there is no provision for supplementary pensions in the Single Scheme, for example, in terms of its scope, qualifying criteria, methodology etc., there is no basis upon which to calculate the estimated cost of introducing the measure in question for post-1 January 2013 new entrants to the PDF.

Under the 2012 Act, overall statutory responsibility for the Single Scheme pension terms and rules rests with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.