Callinan will get €85,000 pension and gratuity of €255,000 upon retirement

Former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan will receive an annual pension of €85,000 and a lump sum "one-off gratuity"of €255,000 upon his retirement.

Mr Callinan’s pension package is in line with normal public service standards, which dictate that retirees receive an annual pension of 50 per cent of their final salary and a one-off gratuity of 150 per cent of their final salary.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice said that it could not go into the “specific details of an individual person’s pension or gratuity” but it is understood normal practice will apply to the resignation of Mr Callinan.

The current salary for the Garda Commissioner is just over €170,000, having been reduced from €185,000 following the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Fempi) Act 2013.

Mr Callinan had been a member of the Garda for 41 years and had been commissioner for just over three years.

Two-year extension
He was due to retire on age grounds when he reached 60 years of age last August but was offered a two-year extension by the Government to continue on in the post, an offer which he accepted. The former commissioner was due to retire in August of next year.

Mr Callinan’s pension entitlement will be greater for retiring this year, since the Fempi Act allows those who retire before August 31st, 2014, to have their pension calculated on their level of pay in effect before July 2013. Public servants, including senior officials such as judges who retire before August 31st, will have their pensions and retirement lump sums based on their salaries before cuts introduced under the Haddington Road agreement.

They would therefore avoid a tax of up to 70 per cent on any portion of their pensions above €115,000 a year.

There have been warnings from Garda representative bodies of an “exodus” of middle- and senior-ranking members of the force because of the pension changes.

In a statement, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter paid tribute to Mr Callinan on his retirement.

“As Commissioner and throughout his very distinguished service in the force he has made an enormous contribution to fighting crime and I believe that this contribution will be seen as a legacy of which he can be very proud and for which the community he served are in his debt” he said.

"The high reputation of An Garda Síochána has been gained down through the years through people's experience of dealing with members like Martin Callinan, often at times of great difficulty. I believe, at these challenging times for the force, the men and women who serve in it will continue to enjoy the respect of the community they serve, often at great risk to themselves," he added.