More than €42m needed for Garda and defence pensions

MORE THAN €42 million extra will be required to fund pensions for gardaí and members of the Defence Forces following a higher than expected uptake in early retirement from both organisations, a Dáil select committee was told yesterday.

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern told the Select Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights that provision had been made for 400 retirements from An Garda Síochána, but it now appeared likely that 800 would be retiring. An extra €35 million would be required to fund the pensions, he said.

Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea said 350 members of the Defence Forces took retirement so far this year compared to 260 in 2008. His department’s budget would require an extra €7.2 million to deal with the demand.

Both Ministers refused to agree with suggestions that increases in retirement could be attributed to fears the Government would tax gratuity payments in next week’s budget.

Mr Ahern said it had been suggested that if a tax on gratuity was introduced, it would only be on sums over €200,000, but the average gratuity for gardaí was €107,000.

The committee was also told there were now more people receiving pensions than were serving in the Defence Forces.

The number of pensioners had increased to 10,243, Mr O’Dea said, and the number of those working in the forces could drop below 10,000 before Christmas.

“The Government has decided the Defence Forces will not be allowed to fall below 10,000,” he said.

“I will be recruiting in the New Year. There may be a temporary hiatus, but I assure you it will be temporary.”

Mr O’Dea also said 1,700 members of the forces were overcharged a total of €1.3 million in pension contributions.

The mistake was discovered by representative organisation PDforra, the Minister said, and the members had been repaid between €230 and €1,580 each.

Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan asked Mr Ahern if he was concerned about the retirement of so many high-ranking gardaí.

“We are losing very high- ranking officers whose experience and expertise goes to the heart of the workings of An Garda Síochána,” he said.

Mr Ahern pointed out “we are all dispensable”. He said the Garda force might be losing people who were “just hanging on”.

He also told the committee the department was engaging with the Garda Representative Association to introduce new measures including paying wages on a fortnightly basis instead of weekly and paying by electronic fund transfer.

“By God that’s modernisation for you,” Labour deputy Pat Rabbitte said.