Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if consideration is being given to amending the Army Pensions Acts 1923 to 1980 following the case of a person (details supplied) who has been refused an Army pension following the death of their son in Lebanon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31240/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Army Pensions Acts 1923-1980 constitute a military occupational injuries code which operates separately from, but in addition to, the Defence Forces retirement benefit superannuation provisions.

The Acts primarily provide for disability pensions, and other allowances and gratuities, and they further allow for the award of a Dependent’s Allowance to the widow, children and other dependants of any member of the Defence Forces killed in the course of duty.

Regarding the specific case you refer to, the issue relates to a request to transfer a dependant’s allowance previously awarded to a dependant.

The Department of Defence treats any case involving a deceased soldier with the utmost sensitivity.

In this specific case, under the current law, the Army Pensions Acts 1923-1980, there is no provision to transfer a Dependants Allowance to another person, at any stage.

My Secretary General will this week raise this case with her colleagues in the Department of Social Protection to see what other supports may be available to the person in question.

Like all families of deceased soldiers, we will do all we can to support them.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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74. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the progress to date in improving pension levels for members of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30992/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Defence Forces superannuation arrangements differ in a number of key respects to the wider public service. Distinct features include lower mandatory retirement ages or upper service limits, earlier ages with entitlement to immediate pension benefit, and atypical faster rates of benefit accrual. These all serve to support military manpower policy and operational requirements

The military pension arrangements flow from the State’s need to support the long-term sustainability of public service pensions into the future, while at the same time continuing to provide valuable pension benefits for its employees.

The specific occupational pension scheme terms of members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) – will depend on factors such as the date a person first joins the public service – fall mainly into the following three distinct fast accrual categories:

• Those who joined the PDF before April 2004;
• Those who joined on or after 1^st April 2004 and before 1^st January 2013; and
• Those who join on or after 1^st January 2013 as members of the Single Public Service Pension Scheme.

Some recent improvements to pension levels for the Defence Forces include:

• Implementation of recent increases in mandatory retirement age which means that earnings are now pensionable for a longer period, to a higher mandatory retirement age.
• Pay parity policy has been maintained. This means that the benefit of pay increases awarded under the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026 is passed on to military pensions, as appropriate, in accordance with established methodology.

The military occupational pension schemes, in the round, compare very favourably to the generality of pension arrangements applicable across our public service.