S.I. No. 356/1992:

OIREACHTAS (TERMINATION ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1992.

OIREACHTAS (TERMINATION ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, BERTIE AHERN, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 5 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1992 (No. 3 of 1992), hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Oireachtas (Termination Allowance) Regulations, 1992.

2. These Regulations shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of November, 1992.

3. (1) In these Regulations--

"relevant period of continuous service" means, where a period of continuous service exceeds 5110 days, the last 5110 days of such service;

"the appropriate authority" means--

(i) in the case of a person referred to in paragraph (a) (i) of Regulation 4, the Clerk of Dáil Éireann, and

(ii) in the case of a person referred to in paragraph (a) (ii) of Regulation 4, the Clerk of Seanad Éireann.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations--

( a ) in the case of a person who is a member of Dáil Éireann on a dissolution of Dáil Éireann, the period between the date of dissolution and polling day at the general election for Dáil Éireann next following such dissolution shall be deemed to be a period of service as a member of Dáil Éireann, and the date of the person's cesser of membership, referred to in Regulation 7 (1), shall be deemed to be the day preceding the aforesaid polling day;

( b ) where a person ceases to be a member of Dáil Éireann on the occasion of a dissolution of Dáil Éireann, is not elected at the general election for Dáil Éireann next following such dissolution, but

(i) prior to the general election for Seanad Éireann next following such dissolution, is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann under Article 18.10 of the Constitution, or

(ii) is elected at the aforesaid general election for Seanad Éireann, or following the said general election for Seanad Éireann is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann under Article 18.3 of the Constitution,

the period between polling day at the aforesaid general election for Dáil Éireann and the date of the person's election or nomination as a member of Seanad Éireann shall not be reckoned as a period of service as a member of either House of the Oireachtas, but shall not be regarded as breaking the continuity of such service;

( c ) where a person is a member of Seanad Éireann on the day preceding polling day at a general election for Seanad Éireann, is not elected at the said general election but, following the said general election, is nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann under Article 18.3 of the Constitution, the period between polling day at the said general election and the date of the person's nomination as a member of Seanad Éireann shall be treated in like manner to the period referred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph.

(3) In these Regulations a reference to a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations, unless otherwise indicated.

4. These Regulations shall apply to a person who, after the commencement of these Regulations--

( a ) (i) ceases to be a member of Dáil Éireann as a result of a dissolution of Dáil Éireann, and

(I) is not elected at the general election for Dáil Éireann next following such dissolution, and

(II) is not nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann under Article 18.10 of the Constitution prior to the general election for Seanad Éireann next following such dissolution, and

(III) is not elected at the aforesaid general election for Seanad Éireann and, following such general election, is not nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann under Article 18.3 of the Constitution,

or

(ii) being a member of Seanad Éireann on the day preceding polling day at a general election for Seanad Éireann, is not elected at the said general election and, following the said general election, is not nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann under Article 18.3 of the Constitution,

and

( b ) (i) has not less than 183 days of continuous service as a member of the Oireachtas on ceasing to be such a member; and

(ii) is a person to whom the new Scheme (as defined in Clause 2 of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme, 1992) applies in respect of all of his service as a member of the Oireachtas; and

(iii) does not, on ceasing to be a member of the Oireachtas,

(I) become a representative in the European Parliament, or

(II) take up a full-time position to which he is appointed by, or on the nomination of, the Government or a member of the Government.

5. A person to whom these Regulations apply shall be entitled to be paid a termination allowance, which allowance shall comprise a lump sum payment, and, subject to the provisions of Regulation 7, a number of payments, payable monthly in arrears and hereinafter referred to as "monthly payments".

6. (1) The amount of the lump sum payment referred to in Regulation 5 shall be an amount equal to 1/6th of the relevant amount as defined in Regulation 8.

7. (1) In addition to the aforementioned lump sum payment, monthly payments shall be payable to the person concerned provided that person had, on the date of his cesser of membership, not less than 1,095 days of continuous service as a member of the Oireachtas.

(2) The number of monthly payments payable to a person under this Regulation shall be the lesser of 12 or the number calculated by the formula--

A - 2

where A is the number of years calculated by dividing by 365 the number of days of the person's continuous service as a member of the Oireachtas, any fraction of a year in the result so obtained being reckoned as a period in respect of which a reduced payment, the amount of which shall be determined in accordance with paragraph (3) (c) of this Regulation, shall be payable.

(3) ( a ) Subject to subparagraph (c) of this paragraph, if the number of monthly payments payable to a person under this Regulation does not exceed six, each payment shall be 75 per cent. of 1/12th of the relevant amount as defined in Regulation 8.

( b ) If the number of monthly payments payable to a person under this Regulation exceeds six, each of the first six payments shall be 75 per cent. of 1/12th of the aforesaid relevant amount and, subject to subparagraph (c) of this paragraph, each payment in excess of six shall be 50 per cent. of 1/12th of the aforesaid relevant amount.

( c ) Where a monthly payment payable to a person under this Regulation is a reduced payment, the amount of such payment shall be determined by the formula--A x F

A x F

where A is the amount which the payment would be if it were not a reduced payment, and F is the fraction of a year in respect of which the reduced payment is payable.

8. In Regulations 6 and 7, but subject to Regulation 10 (2), "the relevant amount" means--

( a ) in the case of a person whose relevant period of continuous service was as a member of Dáil Éireann only, the annual rate of the salary payable from time to time to a member of Dáil Éireann,

( b ) in the case of a person whose relevant period of continuous service was as a member of Seanad Éireann only, the annual rate of the salary payable from time to time to a member of Seanad Éireann, and

( c ) in the case of a person whose relevant period of continuous service included periods of service in both Houses of the Oireachtas, the amount obtained by the formula--

where--

A is the annual rate of the salary payable from time to time to a member of Dáil Éireann,

B is the number of days in the relevant period of continuous service during which the person served, or for the purposes of these Regulations is deemed to have served, as a member of Dáil Éireann,

C is the total number of days in the relevant period of continuous service,

D is the annual rate of the salary payable from time to time to a member of Seanad Éireann, and

E is the number of days in the relevant period of continuous service during which the person concerned served as a member of Seanad Éireann.

9. (1) Where a person who is in receipt of monthly payments under Regulation 7 dies, or becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament, or takes up a position referred to in Regulation 4 (b) (iii) (II), his entitlement to such payments shall thereupon cease.

(2) A person who is in receipt of the aforesaid monthly payments may apply to the appropriate authority for their cesser, and if he so applies, his entitlement to such payments shall cease with effect from such date, being a date not earlier than the date of the application, as is specified in the said application.

10. (1) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of these Regulations, a person who satisfies the requirements of paragraph (a) (i) (I) and paragraph (b) of Regulation 4 may, on application to the appropriate authority, be paid a termination allowance with effect from polling day at the general election for Dáil Éireann referred to in the said paragraph (a) (i) (I):

Provided that, in so applying, he declares that he does not propose to--

( a ) seek election to Seanad Éireann at the general election for Seanad Éireann next following the dissolution of Dáil Éireann referred to in paragraph (a) of Regulation 4, or

( b ) consent to be nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann under Article 18.10 of the Constitution prior to the said general election for Seanad Éireann,

( c ) consent to be nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann under Article 18.3 of the Constitution following the said general election for Seanad Éireann:

Provided that if, contrary to the said declaration, the person is so elected or so nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann, he shall immediately refund to the appropriate authority any moneys paid to him under these Regulations as a result of his application therefor.

(2) Where, in the case of a person to whom these Regulations apply, a lump sum payment is payable to the person with effect from the 25th day of November, 1992, the amount of that payment shall be calculated as if the annual rate of the salary payable to a member of the Oireachtas on that date was--

( a ) £29,761 in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann, and

( b ) £17,257 in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 25th day of November, 1992.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide for a scheme of severance payments (entitled "termination allowances") for outgoing Members of the Oireachtas, as recommended in Report 35 of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector.