“Tens of thousands of public service workers will spend an additional year in the workforce as plans are being advanced to increase the retirement age by one year to 66, the Irish Independent understands. The Government is actively researching the impact of such a move on the public-sector workforce …” (more)
[Kevin Doyle, Independent, 3 November]
“The government has asked public servants to pay more for their pensions but will refund pay cuts imposed under emergency legislation in a new deal. Sources at talks on a deal to extend the Lansdowne Road Agreement said government officials said they would convert a €720m pension levy already being paid into a higher permanent contribution …” (more)
[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 29 May]
“Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has insisted that the gaping difference between public and private sector pension provisions will be on the table at new talks, despite a report advising it stands at just 14%. The commission advising the Government on its pay policy has been accused of ignoring the ‘elephant in the room’ in its calculations – because most private sector workers have no pensions at all …” (more)
[Anne-Marie Walsh and Kevin Doyle, Independent, 16 May]
“University College Cork acquired a private business college without picking up the tab for its pension scheme, which previously had a deficit of more than €10m. The takeover of the Irish Management Institute (IMI), in Dublin, late last year, has raised concerns within UCC, and senior management were quizzed on it by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in late March …” (more)
[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 10 May]
“Talks on a new public service pay agreement, due to begin in the coming weeks, will see the Government trade pay increases for additional pension contributions amongst thousands of middle-income public service workers. However, a key battleground in the talks is likely to centre on the income threshold above which any new higher pension contribution will apply …” (more)
[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 10 May]
“Public servants will take a huge hit from widescale reform of their pensions, calculations show. Changing the way pensions are calculated could see even modestly paid public servants losing up to €100,000 over the course of their retirement …” (more)
[Charlie Weston, Independent, 2 May]
“A new pay commission is set to advise the Government to keep in place a pension levy that was imposed on public servants during the financial crisis. In its first report, the Public Service Pay Commission is expected to support the Government position that most of its 300,000 employees make a bigger contribution towards their retirement benefits …” (more)
[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 27 April]
“Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent): To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will restore public service pensions fully by mid-2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 28 February]
“Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason public servants in receipt of a public service pension have the pension levy deducted from their pensions; the rate at which it is deducted; his plans to reduce the pension levy in the coming years; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 15 February]
“Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the timeframe for the repeal of FEMPI legislation in respect of retired public servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 24 January]
“An end to pension increases for retired public-sector workers is on the table in the next round of pay talks. Public-service pensioners have traditionally benefited from pay parity, which means they go up when there is an increase in the salary of the person in their old job …” (more)
[Anne-Marie Walsh and Kevin Doyle, Independent, 27 December]
“The plans by the Department of Public Expenditure to seek a greater contribution from public servants towards the cost of their pensions will be fiercely resisted by unions who represent the 320,000 who work in the public sector …” (more)
[Pat Leahy, Irish Times, 19 December]
“Plans to get staff in the public service to pay more towards their pensions are being examined by the Government. Informed sources said it would be likely the Government would look for a greater financial contribution from staff towards their pensions in tandem with the unwinding of the existing public service pension levy and any pay increases that came about as part of a successor to the existing Lansdowne Road agreement …” (more)
[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 19 December]
“The average public sector pension is worth almost four times as much as a private sector one. Official figures reveal retired State workers got €20,367 last year, while the biggest pension provider, Irish Life, said private sector pensioners received an average annual payment of €5,332 …” (more)
[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 17 December]
“The value of pensions and job security enjoyed by public sector workers will be used to quell demands for pay rises at Government talks with unions. Pension values will be firmly on the negotiating table after it was revealed a garda’s retirement pot is worth from €30,000 to €40,000 a year …” (more)
[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 13 December]
“Thousands of public sector pensioners are in line for a triple boost next year. The increases will see some retired public sector workers getting an annual increase in their income of €1,000 …” (more)
[Charlie Weston, Independent, 10 October]
“The forthcoming commission on public sector pay will consider the value of public servants’ pensions as part of their remuneration, compared to those available in the private sector …” (more)
[Pat Leahy, Irish Times, 4 October]
“Renua Ireland leader Lucinda Creighton has pledged to move new public sector workers onto cheaper pensions. Her party’s election manifesto, which was published today, states that …” (more)
[Michael Brennan, Business Post, 4 January]
“Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has signed an order which will provide for pay increases for about 300,000 staff in the public service as well as pension rises for retired personnel from early next year …” (more)
[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 30 November]
“The Dáil’s spending watchdog is to investigate an ‘anomalous’ €160m cash mountain in Irish universities which is growing by €30m a year, the Irish Independent can reveal …” (more)
[Daniel McConnell and Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 10 August]
