Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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111. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the same rights are attached to local authority gratuity payments to a former councillor as to a public servant's pension and lump sum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39572/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Eligible retiring councillors have been paid a gratuity since 2002. The present scheme was established in June of this year under S.I. No. 276 of 2024.

The present Regulations, which commenced on 14 June 2024, provide that where an elected member of a local authority ceases to hold office and has at least two years' qualifying service having –

(a) reached the age of 50 years, or(b) become incapable of performing his or her duties as a member due to permanent infirmity of mind or body, or(c) died in office,

they will qualify for a gratuity. In the case of (c) above, the member’s legal personal representative will be granted the gratuity.

The Regulations further provide that, in circumstances where a member has not reached the age of 50 on retirement, their gratuity will be preserved until they have reached that age; their gratuity will then be calculated with reference to the current rate of remuneration rate at that point.

Gratuities are calculated on the basis of the following formula:

A x B x 3

20

where A is the applicable annual remuneration rate payable on the date the elected member ceased to be a member or, in the case of a preserved gratuity, the date on which the former member reaches the age of 50, and B is the number of years of his or her gratuity service.

The gratuity paid to councillors is non-contributory and is subject to tax, depending on the value of other lump sum type payments received by the individual.

Local authority staff employed in a pensionable capacity are members of either pre-existing or single public service pension schemes. The pre-existing and single pension schemes are defined benefit schemes with contributions payable by members by way of deduction from salary/wages. Rates of contributions and any benefits accruing are set by the terms of either the Local Government Superannuation Scheme, as subsequently amended, or the Single Public Service Pension Scheme. In general, the benefits include an annual pension and a lump sum payable upon retirement.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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112. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the circumstances under which a gratuity payment of an ex-member of a local authority can be confiscated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39574/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Regulations for a revised non-contributory gratuity scheme for local authority elected members have recently been published under S.I. No. 276 of 2024. Related guidance has been issued to local authority staff and serving elected members.

The Regulations, which commenced on 14 June 2024, provide that where an elected member of a local authority ceases to hold office and has at least two years' qualifying service having –

(a) reached the age of 50 years, or(b) become incapable of performing his or her duties as a member due to permanent infirmity of mind or body, or(c) died in office,

they will qualify for a gratuity. In the case of (c) above, the member’s legal personal representative will be granted the gratuity.

The Regulations further provide that, in circumstances where a member has not reached the age of 50 on retirement, their gratuity will be preserved until they have reached that age; their gratuity will then be calculated with reference to the current rate of remuneration rate at that point. This applies to all former councillors who, at the time of the new Regulations' commencement, have not yet reached the age of 50 or otherwise received a gratuity under (b) or (c) above.

It is a matter for the relevant local authority to calculate and administer the gratuity payable to a former member, where they are eligible to receive one.

While the Regulations are silent in relation to other circumstances in which a gratuity payment might be withheld, there may be valid legal reasons at a local level for such a course of action. This would be a matter for the local authority concerned, having sought appropriate legal advice.