S.I. No. 385 of 2001

SCHEME

Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme, 2001

I, Charlie McCreevy, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 6A (inserted by section 5 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1960 ( No. 12 of 1960 ), as amended by section 1 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Act, 1968 ( No. 9 of 1968 ), by section 4 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices (Amendment) Act, 1983 ( No. 32 of 1983 ), and by section 10 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act, 1998 ( No. 5 of 1998 )), of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act, 1938 (No. 34 of 1938) , hereby make the following scheme:

1.      This Scheme may be cited as the Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme, 2001.

2.      This Scheme is to be taken to have come into operation on 25 September 2000.

3.      In this Scheme -

“the Act of 1938” means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act, 1938 (No. 34 of 1938) ;

“new Scheme” has the meaning given to it in Clause 2 of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme, 1992 ( S.I. No. 354 of 1992 );

“old Scheme” has the meaning given to it in Clause 2 of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme, 1992.

4.      Where a gratuity is paid to or in respect of a member of either House of the Oireachtas under Clause 5A of the old Scheme, or under Clause 5, 5A, 5B, or 5D of the new Scheme, with effect from any date during the period commencing on 25 September 2000, and ending with 31 March 2002, the amount of the gratuity so paid shall be calculated -

(a)      as if the salaries payable to members of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann on 25 September 2000, were as follows:

(i)      in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann who has less than 7 years service as a member of the Oireachtas, £46,506,

(ii)      in the case of a member of Dáil Éreann who has not less than 7 years service but less than 10 years service as a member of the Oireachtas, £47,989,

(iii)      in the case of a member of Dáil Éireann who has not less than 10 years service as a member of the Oireachtas, £49,472,

(iv)      in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann who has less than 7 years service as a member of the Oireachtas, £32,554,

(v)      in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann who has not less than 7 years service but less than 10 years of cumulative service as a member of the Oireachtas, £33,592,

(vi)      in the case of a member of Seanad Éireann who has not less than 10 years service as a member of the Oireachtas, £34,630

and

(b)      as if the salaries indicated in subclause (a) of this Clause had been increased in accordance with section 3B of the Act of 1938 on foot of any general increases in remuneration applicable in the civil service during the period commencing on 25 September 2000 and ending with the day on which the person ceases to be a member of the Oireachtas.

5.      Where Clause 4 of this Scheme applies in the case of a gratuity to be paid and a deduction from the gratuity falls to be made under Clause 5G (1)(a) of the new Scheme, the annual amount of the salary for the purposes of calculating the amount of the deduction shall be the salary in Clause 4 from which the gratuity to be paid is calculated.

Explanatory Note.

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This amending Scheme provides that a retirement lump sum or death gratuity under the Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pension Scheme shall, if payable during the period from 25 September 2000 to 31 March 2002 inclusive, be based on the full rates of salary recommended with effect from 25 September 2000 by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector in its Report No. 38 (Pn. 8907), and appropriate long-service increments, as increased by any increases which are generally applicable in the civil service from that date to the date when the person ceases to be a member of the Oireachtas.