No. 22/1968:

OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) AND MINISTERIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY OFFICES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1968

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I PRELIMINARY

1 Short title.

PART II AMENDMENT OF OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) ACTS, 1938 TO 1968

2 Interpretation and collective citation.

3 Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act.

PART III AMENDMENT OF MINISTERIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY OFFICES ACTS, 1938 TO 1964

4 Interpretation and collective citation.

5 Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act.

6 Amendment of section 4 of Principal Act.

7 Amendment of section 5 of Principal Act.

8 Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act.

9 Amendment of section 10 of Principal Act.

10 Amendment of section 14 of Principal Act.

11 Amendment of section 16 of Principal Act.

AN ACT TO AMEND THE OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) ACTS, 1938 TO 1968, AND THE MINISTERIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY OFFICES ACTS, 1938 TO 1964.

[19th July, 1968.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

PART I PRELIMINARY

1.—This Act may be cited as the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1968 .

PART II AMENDMENT OF OIREACHTAS (ALLOWANCES TO MEMBERS) ACTS, 1938 TO 1968

2.—(1) In this Part of this Act—

"the Principal Act" means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act, 1938 ;

"the Act of 1964" means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1964 .

(2) The collective citation, the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Acts 1938 to 1968 shall include this Part of this Act.

3.—(1) The following subsections are hereby substituted for subsections (1) and (2) of section 3 of the Principal Act as amended by section 3 of the Act of 1964:

"(1) The allowance to be paid to each member of Dáil Éireann under this Act shall be an allowance at the rate of £2, 500 per annum payable monthly.

(2) The allowance to be paid to each member of Seanad Éireann under this Act shall be an allowance at the rate of £1, 500 per annum payable monthly."

(2) This section shall come into operation on the date of the passing of this Act.

PART III AMENDMENT OF MINISTERIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY OFFICES ACTS, 1938 TO 1964

4.—(1) In this Part of this Act—

"the Principal Act" means the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act, 1938 ;

"the Act of 1964" means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1964

(2) The Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts, 1938 to 1964 and this Part of this Act may be cited together as the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts, 1938 to 1968.

5.—(1) The following subsections are hereby substituted for subsections (1) and (2) of section 3 of the Principal Act as amended by section 7 of the Act of 1964 :

"(1) There shall be paid to the Taoiseach an annual sum by way of salary not exceeding the sum of £5, 500 and to each other member of the Government an annual sum by way of salary not exceeding the sum of £3, 500.

(2) There shall be paid an annual sum by way of salary, not exceeding the sum of £2, 250, to every Parliamentary Secretary appointed under section 7 of the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924 , who shall not, by the terms of his appointment, be declared to be appointed without salary."

(2) This section and the next four sections shall come into operation on the date of the passing of this Act.

6.—The following section is hereby substituted for section 4 of the Principal Act as amended by section 8 of the Act of 1964:

"4. There shall be paid to the Attorney General an annual sum by way of salary not exceeding the sum of £5, 500."

7.—The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (1) of section 5 of the Principal Act as amended by section 9 of the Act of 1964:

"(1) There shall be paid to the Chairman of Dáil Éireann an annual sum by way of salary not exceeding the sum of £3, 500, and to the Deputy Chairman of Dáil Éireann an annual sum by way of salary not exceeding the sum of £1, 500."

8.—The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (1) of section 6 of the Principal Act as amended by section 10 of the Act of 1964:

"(1) There shall be paid to the Chairman of Seanad Éireann an annual sum by way of salary not exceeding the sum of £2, 000, and to the Deputy Chairman of Seanad Éireann an annual sum by way of salary not exceeding the sum of £1, 000."

9.—The following subsections are hereby substituted for subsections (1) to (3) of section 10 of the Principal Act as amended by section 11 of the Act of 1964 :

"(1) Where there is one qualified Party and not more, there shall be paid to the Leader of that Party an annual sum by way of allowance for expenses of £15, 000.

(2) Where there are two qualified Parties and not more—

( a ) there shall be paid to the Leader of that one of the qualified Parties which is of the greater numerical strength in Dáil Éireann an annual sum by way of allowance for expenses of £10, 000, and

( b ) there shall be paid to the Leader of the other qualified Party an annual sum by way of allowance for expenses of £5, 000.

(3) Where there are three or more qualified Parties—

( a ) there shall be paid to the Leader of that one of the qualified Parties which is of the greatest numerical strength in Dáil Éireann an annual sum by way of allowance for expenses of £7, 500,

( b ) there shall be paid to each of the Leaders of the other qualified Parties an annual sum by way of allowance for expenses of £7, 500 divided by the number of the other qualified Parties."

10.—(1) The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (3) of section 14 of the Principal Act as amended by section 15 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1960 :

"(3) A Ministerial pension shall be at the following rates, that is to say:

so long as the pensionable service of the person entitled thereto is less than four years, twenty-five per cent. of the annual sum payable for the time being by way of salary to a member of the Government other than the Taoiseach or (if the person held the office of Taoiseach on the last day on which he held qualifying office) to the Taoiseach,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than five years but not less than four years, twenty-nine per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than six years but not less than five years, thirty-three per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than seven years but not less than six years, thirty-seven per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than eight years but not less than seven years, forty-one per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

in case such person's pensionable service is not less than eight years, forty-five per cent. of the sum aforesaid.".

(2) The Pensions (Increase) Act, 1950 , the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1956 , the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1959 , the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1960 , the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1964 , and regulations under the said Pensions (Increase) Act, 1964 , shall not, unless regulations made under the said Pensions (Increase) Act, 1964 , after the passing of this Act, provide otherwise, apply—

( a ) in relation to a ministerial pension or a secretarial pension, or

( b ) in relation to a widow's pension (within the meaning of the Principal Act) calculated by reference to a ministerial pension (whether paid or not) or a secretarial pension (whether paid or not).

(3) In this section "qualifying office" has the same meaning as in Part IV of The Principal Act.

(4) This section and section 11 of this Act shall come into operation on the date of the passing of this Act.

11.—The following subsection is hereby substituted for subsection (3) of section 16 of the Principal Act as amended by section 16 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1960 :

"(3) A secretarial pension shall be at the following rates, that is to say:

so long as the pensionable service of the person entitled thereto is less than four years, twenty-eight per cent. of the annual sum payable for the time being by way of salary to a Parliamentary Secretary,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than five years but not less than four years, thirty-two per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than six years but not less than five years, thirty-seven per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than seven years but not less than six years, forty-two per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than eight years but not less than seven years, forty-six per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

in case such person's pensionable service is not less than eight years, fifty-one per cent of the sum aforesaid."