S.I. No. 218/1977:

DEFENCE FORCES (PENSIONS) (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1977.

DEFENCE FORCES (PENSIONS) (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1977.

ARRANGEMENT OF ARTICLES.

Article

1. Short title, collective citation and construction.

2. Commencement.

3. Application of the Interpretation Act, 1937.

4. Definitions.

5. Increase of retired pay of officers retiring on or after 2nd day of December, 1975.

6. Increase of gratuities of married officers retiring on or after 2nd day of December, 1975.

7. Amendment of Article 26A of the Principal Scheme.

8. Amendment of Article 28A of the Principal Scheme.

9. Gratuity on retirement to an officer serving as Chief of Staff who retired while so serving.

10. Amendment of Article 12 of the Principal Scheme.

S.I. No. 218 of 1977 .

DEFENCE FORCES (PENSIONS) (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1977.

I, OLIVER J. FLANAGAN, Minister for Defence, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 2 , 3 and 5 of the Defence Forces (Pensions) Act, 1932 (No. 26 of 1932), and by section 4 of the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Act, 1938 (No. 33 of 1938), as adapted by the Public Service (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1973 ( S.I. No. 294 of 1973 ), hereby, with the consent of the Minister for the Public Service, make the following Scheme:

1. (1) This Scheme may be cited as the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1977.

(2) The Defence Forces (Pensions) Schemes, 1937 to 1975, and this Scheme may be cited together as the Defence Forces (Pensions) Schemes, 1937 to 1977.

(3) The Defence Forces (Pensions) Schemes, 1937 to 1977, shall be construed together as one Scheme.

2. This Scheme shall come into force on the day after the date on which it is made.

3. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to this Scheme.

4. In this Scheme--

"the Principal Scheme" means the Defence Forces (Pensions) Scheme, 1937 (S.R. & O., No. 249 of 1937);

"the Amending Scheme of 1947" means the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1947 (S.R. & O., No. 81 of 1947);

"the No. 4 Amending Scheme of 1975" means the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) (No. 4) Scheme, 1975 ( S.I. No. 309 of 1975 ).

5. (1) Where retired pay is granted under Article 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9A, 10 or 10A of the Principal Scheme to an officer who retires or is retired on or after the 2nd day of December, 1975, such pay (as increased by Article 5 of the No. 4 Amending Scheme of 1975) shall be further increased by the appropriate percentage indicated in the Table to this Article opposite the mention of such officer's retiring rank.

(2) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 2nd day of December, 1975.

TABLE

6. (1) Where a gratuity is payable under Article 11 of the Principal Scheme (inserted by Article 9 of the Amending Scheme of 1947) to an officer who retires or is retired on or after the 2nd day of December, 1975, such gratuity (as increased by Article 6 of the No. 4 Amending Scheme of 1975) shall be further increased by the appropriate percentage indicated in the Table to this Article opposite the mention of such officer's retiring rank, and Article 11A of the Principal Scheme (inserted by Article 10 of the said Amending Scheme of 1947) shall have effect accordingly.

(2) In this Article and in the Table hereto "retiring rank" has the meaning assigned to it in Rule 1 (inserted by Article 19 of the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1957 ( S.I. No. 152 of 1957 )) of the Fifth Schedule to the Principal Scheme.

(3) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 2nd day of December, 1975.

TABLE

7. The Principal Scheme shall be construed and have effect as if the following Article were substituted for Article 26A (inserted by Article 22 of the Amending Scheme of 1947) (as amended by Article 9 of the No. 4 Amending Scheme of 1975):

"26A. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Scheme there may be granted to any long-service soldier who is discharged on or after the 1st day of December, 1975, and whose qualifying service is 21 years or more, a pension at the rate per week specified in Table I to this Article opposite the mention of his retiring rank.

(2) Where--

( a ) a soldier is permitted to extend his service in the Forces beyond 21 years service, and

( b ) such soldiers qualifying service is 22 years or more, and

( c ) such soldier is granted a pension under sub-article (1) of this article,

Table I to this Article shall have effect as if the weekly sum set out in the appropriate column of the said Table opposite the mention of his retiring rank were increased, in respect of each year of his qualifying service in excess of twenty-one years but not in excess of thirty-one years, by £0.05 plus an additional increase at the rate specified in Table II to this Article.

(3) The additional increase specified in Table II to this Article shall cease to be payable when a soldier reaches the age of 70 years or becomes otherwise entitled to a retirement pension under the Social Welfare Acts.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-article (3), the additional increase specified in Table II to the Article shall continue to be payable when a soldier reaches the age of 70 years, if, without his own default, he fails to qualify for a contributory old age pension under the Social Welfare Acts.

(5) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of December, 1975.

TABLE I.

TABLE II.

8. (1) Article 28A of the Principal Scheme (inserted by Article 26 of the Amending Scheme of 1947) (as amended by Article 13 of the No. 4 Amending Scheme of 1975) shall have effect as if the gratuity payable thereunder to a soldier, in lieu of being calculated by reference to the Tables to the said Article 13 were--

( a ) in the case of a soldier discharged or transferred to the Reserve on or after the 1st day of December, 1975 and before the 1st day of March, 1976, calculated by reference to Table I to this Article;

( b ) in the case of a soldier discharged or transferred to the Reserve on or after the 1st day of March, 1976 and before the 1st day of June, 1976, calculated by reference to Table II to this Article;

( c ) in the case of a soldier discharged or transferred to the Reserve on or after the 1st day of June, 1976 and before the 1st day of August, 1976, calculated by reference to Table III to this Article.

( d ) in the case of a soldier discharged or transferred to the Reserve on or after the 1st day of August, 1976 and before the 1st day of April, 1977, calculated by reference to Table IV to this Article;

( e ) in the case of a soldier discharged or transferred to the Reserve on or after the 1st day of April, 1977, calculated by reference to Table V to this Article.

(2) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of December, 1975.

TABLE I.

TABLE II.

TABLE III.

TABLE IV.

TABLE V.

9. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Principal Scheme or in Article 6 (1) of the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) (No. 3) Scheme, 1970 ( S.I. No. 298 of 1970 ), as amended by Article 10 of the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) (No. 3) Scheme, 1972 ( S.I. No. 306 of 1972 ), where an officer to whom this Article applies retires within six years of the age limit prescribed for him in Defence Force Regulations, the total gratuity payable to him shall be one and one-half times the annual rate of his regimental pay at the date of his retirement.

(2) This Article applies to an officer--

( a ) whose pensionable service is twenty-one years or more,

and

( b ) who retires while holding the appointment of Chief of Staff.

(3) In this Article " regimental pay " means the rate of pay prescribed in Defence Force Regulations for the rank held by an officer to whom this Article applies.

(4) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 28th day of July, 1976.

10. (1) Article 12 of the Principal Scheme, as amended by Article 7 of the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1953, ( S.I. No. 259 of 1953 ) is hereby amended by--

( a ) the substitution, in sub-article (1) of "twenty-one" for"twenty-five";

( b ) the substitution, in sub-article (2), of "thirty-two" for "thirty-seven"; and

( c ) the substitution in sub-article (3), of "thirty-two" for "thirty-seven";

and the said Article 12, as so amended, is set out in the Table to this Article.

TABLE.

"12. (1) Where an officer whose pensionable service is five years or more but less than twelve years retires voluntarily, there may, subject to the provisions of this Scheme, be granted to such officer a gratuity of an amount equal to in the case of a single officer, twenty-one days and in the case of a married officer, twenty days of his daily pay at the date of his retirement for each year of pensionable service.

(2) Where an officer whose pensionable service is one year or more but less than ten years is retired on the grounds of permanent infirmity of body or mind, there may, subject to the provisions of this Scheme, be granted to such officer a gratuity of an amount equal to in the case of a single officer, thirty-two days and in the case of a married officer, thirty days of his daily pay at the date of his retirement for each year of pensionable service.

(3) Where an officer whose pensionable service is five years or more and less than twelve years is compulsorily retired for any cause (other than age, misconduct, inefficiency or mental or physical incapacity) there may, subject to the provisions of this Scheme, be granted to such officer a gratuity of an amount equal to in the case of a single officer, thirty-two days and in the case of a married officer, thirty days of his daily pay at the date of his retirement for each year of pensionable service.

(4) For the purposes of this Article, the pay of an officer at the date of his retirement shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions, that is to say:--

( a ) in case he had at the said date, either five years' pensionable service in the rank held by him at the said date or less than five years' pensionable service in such rank but was reduced to such rank within five years from the said date, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:--

(i) his pay at the said date shall be taken to be his actual pay at the said date;

(ii) if he was at the said date and had been for five years immediately preceding it in receipt of additional pay, his pay at the said date shall be taken to include such additional pay;

( b ) in any other case, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:--

(i) his notional retiring rank for the purposes of this paragraph shall be taken to be the rank held by him on the day five years before the date of his retirement, or the rank of Second Lieutenant, whichever is the higher,

(ii) his pay at the said date shall be taken to be the pay appropriate to his notional retiring rank,

(iii) if the pay appropriate to his notional retiring rank varies with the number of years' service in that rank, he shall be deemed to have held that rank during the period he held his notional retiring rank and any higher rank,

(iv) if he was at the said date and had for five years immediately preceding it been in receipt of additional pay, his pay at the said date shall be taken to include the additional pay appropriate to his notional retiring rank."

(5) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 2nd day of December, 1974.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 4th day of July, 1977.

OLIVER J. FLANAGAN.

The Minister for the Public Service hereby consents to the foregoing Scheme.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Public Service this 4th day of July, 1977.

RICHIE RYAN.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This statutory instrument provides for increases in the amount of retirement benefits payable to officers of the Permanent Defence Force retiring on or after 2nd December, 1975 and in the pensions or gratuities payable to soldiers discharged or transferred to the Reserve Defence Force on or after 1st December, 1975.

It also amends in other respects the Defence Forces (Pensions) Schemes, 1937 to 1975.