Cathaoirleach,
I would like to thank Senator O’Sullivan for raising this matter and I am pleased to be able to set out the factual position.
It is important at the outset to say the terms and conditions of pensions schemes have and continue to evolve over the years. New terms and conditions are introduced with effect from a specific date and apply to members of the scheme from that date onwards.
Prior to 1 October 1976, where a member of the Garda Síochána resigned or was dismissed before reaching the age and service at which he could retire on pension, that member forfeited all superannuation benefits under the then Garda Síochána Superannuation Scheme.
This situation was changed following discussions at the Garda Conciliation Council –the industrial relations machinery for members of the Garda Síochána. It was agreed at that time by both sides - the Official side and the Garda representative associations – and endorsed by the then Minister for Finance, that the new arrangements should apply to members of the Force serving on or after 1 October, 1976. By extension these new terms did not, and indeed can not, apply to members who had left the force prior to that date. These discussions concluded in what are known as Agreed Reports.
Generally speaking these Agreed Reports provide that a Garda who resigned or was dismissed on or after 1 October 1976 can have superannuation benefits, accrued to the date of resignation or dismissal, preserved until the members reaches 60 years of age. As I have said, there was no provision for the preservation of superannuation benefits in the case of members who resigned or who were dismissed prior to 1 October, 1976.
The then Department of Finance and now Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which continues to have overall responsibility for public service pension matters, agreed with the proposals for a "cut-off" date for eligibility for preserved benefits. This date varies depending on the particular organisation involved and the conclusion of negotiations between management and the relevant staff interests. For example the cut-off date for civil servants was agreed by all parties to be the 1 June, 1973. Equally the cut-off date for members of the Garda Síochána was agreed by all parties to be the 1 October 1976.
I must stress that this was an agreed date between all the parties involved in the discussions and was not imposed. It is an inevitable consequence of the introduction of improvements in pension schemes that members of that scheme who had left it prior to the effective date can not avail of that benefit.
There have been numerous representations made to my Department in relation to this particular matter and we have been in touch with the Department of Public, Expenditure and Reform on the general question. The Department of Finance have stated in the past that it is not possible to resolve a case individually on an administrative basis and it would not, therefore, be possible to provide an individual with preserved benefits without changing the terms of the scheme retrospectively. Such amendment would, in equity, have to cover all public servants who resigned prior to the effective date. The Department of Finance have further stated that changing the various schemes to change the cut-off date is not a practicable proposition and there were no proposals to backdate the existing dates for the introduction of the preservation of superannuation benefits.