Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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1156. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department has engaged with representatives of full-time fire brigades since January 2024 on the issues with the fast accrual (uniformed) single public service pension scheme for uniformed services recruited after 2013; if he will provide the dates of those engagements; if his Department have taken any action as a result of these engagements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18639/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Single Scheme is a statutory Public Service Career-Average Defined Benefit Pension Scheme. It was established on 1 January 2013 under the Public Service Pensions (single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012. The provisions of the Single Scheme are clearly set out in law and were enacted on 28 July 2012. All new-entrant public servants hired after 1 January 2013 are members of the Single Scheme. The introduction of the Single Scheme is the biggest change to public service pensions since the formation of the State, and has been instrumental in ensuring the sustainability of the Public Service pension bill for decades to come, particularly in the context of rising public service employee numbers. My colleague, Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, is responsible for the legislation and policy relating to the Scheme.

Uniformed personnel, such as fire fighters, have enhanced benefits that other members of the Single Scheme do not have. Uniformed personnel can accrue more Single Scheme benefits over their expected shorter public service careers in recognition of their earlier retirement age. In 2024, Government enacted Part 11 of the Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024. This legislation allowed for an increase in the mandatory retirement age for uniformed personnel to 62 years. My predecessor, Minister Darragh O’Brien, duly signed regulations giving effect to the provisions of the Act, raising the retirement age to 62 for all fire fighters.

Any issue in respect of the Single Scheme would be a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. My Department has not had specific engagements on the Single Scheme with firefighters as the Local Government Management Agency leads on coordinated HR and IR related engagements with staff for the local government sector, including in respect of increased age of retirement in 2024.