Since 6 April 1995, all newly-appointed public servants became fully insured under the Social Insurance System.  They pay Class A PRSI, which would entitle them to Social Insurance Benefits such as, maternity benefit, illness benefit, State Pension Contributory (SPC) and other social insurance entitlements not available to public servants paying modified PRSI (Class B, C or D).  A significant number of occupational pension schemes (both private and public sector) take account of a member’s entitlement to the SPC when calculating occupational pension benefits. This is known as ‘integration’, and is also sometimes referred to as 'coordination'.  It should be noted that prior to the extension to all public servants, of Class A PRSI in April 1995, as many as 39,000 public servants were always fully insured.

A public servant paying Class A PRSI will receive both an occupational pension combined with their SPC element, which is paid for by way of PRSI contributions. This part of the pension is bound by the rules and criteria as set by Department of Social Protection (DSP).  An occupational supplementary pension may be payable in circumstances where the total pension package (i.e. the combined total of the public service occupational pension plus any social insurance benefits) is less than that of the pension payable to a public servant on an equivalent salary and whose pension is not integrated with the Social Insurance system and who do not have an entitlement to the SPC.

The payment of an occupational supplementary pension is subject to an individual meeting certain criteria, such as the retired public servant shall not be in paid employment and:

fails to qualify for a Social Insurance Benefit or

qualifies for a Social Insurance Benefit at a reduced rate, or at a rate less than the full rate of the SPC, and

has reached minimum pension age or is in receipt of an ill-health pension.

The following Social Insurance payments are considered when assessing an individual for an Occupational Supplementary Pension:  The State Pension Contributory (SPC), Illness Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds and Jobseeker’s Benefit.  In order to qualify for the payment of a supplementary pension, a retired public servant must engage with the Department of Social Protection and apply for any of above mentioned benefits to which they may have an entitlement. The rules regarding qualifying for the above Social Insurance payments are a matter for the Department of Social Protection.

Where an individual, in receipt of an occupational supplementary pension, takes up employment, for example, for one day, the supplementary pension would cease for that one day and be payable for the other 4 working days in the week.  This is similar to the treatment of the Jobseeker’s Benefit which is payable by Department of Social Protection.

My Department is aware that there are some issues concerning the procedures for qualifying for the payment of an Occupational Supplementary Pension.  My officials are currently reviewing the processes involved to establish if there is a more efficient and streamlined approach to the procedures.  However, I understand that the matter is quite complex and involves other stakeholders and there is no quick solution.

As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery, and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments.  Management and delivery of individual investment projects within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP) is a key responsibility of every Department and Minister. Each Minister is responsible to deciding on the priority programmes and projects that will be delivered under their remit within the NDP and for setting out the timelines for delivery.

In 2023, over €12 billion is available from the Exchequer for investment in public capital projects, which will provide more schools, homes, hospitals and other pieces of vital infrastructure. This level of expenditure will be pivotal in consolidating the progress already made, and, most importantly, delivering the necessary infrastructure to support our future climate change obligations as well as our social and economic requirements.  However, no-one is any doubt that the need to ensure timely project delivery must be part of the government’s focus to respond effectively to the pressing challenges of our time, particularly in areas like housing, health and climate.

The Government is also committed to continue to detail progress on the delivery of the NDP at regular intervals into the future to allow for full transparency on the implementation of Project Ireland 2040. This will be achieved through regular updates of the Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and map as well as the publication of annual reports and regional reports highlighting Project Ireland 2040 achievements and giving a detailed overview of the public investments that have been made throughout the country.

The latest iterations of the Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and map, from February 2023, are detailed at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/f828b-myprojectireland-interactive-map/. They contain project updates and the latest timelines for delivery for key NDP projects.

This property was the subject of PQ 55497/21 and PQ 7920/23 submitted by the Deputy.

The position regarding Vernon Mount House remains the same. The House and it’s immediate curtilage registered under Folio CK136041F is owned by a private company Vernon Mount House Restoration Ltd. This company is live, its annual returns are up to date and the CRO status is Normal.   The house is not State property and, that being the case, neither the OPW nor the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has any role in this matter.

There is no record of OPW receiving correspondence from the local authority in respect of Mount Vernon House during 2022 or 2023. As this property is privately owned there is no expectation that the OPW would receive such correspondence, because it has no role in the ownership or management of the property.

The issue is around timelines for implementation. I understand it is a complex issue and, as the Minister explained, many Departments are involved in implementation of the policy. She mentioned compulsory measures. We are concerned about the time taken to come up with the strategy, how that is going to be implemented and what it will look like.

We have identified areas that we want to focus on as part of the pilot. Sustainable tourism is something that has a big impact on rural economies. We have launched the national recreation strategy.

That has huge economic benefits. Let us consider, for example, the benefits of Limerick greenway, the mountain biking trail in the Slieve Bloom Mountains and Mount Congreve Gardens in Waterford. Only last week, I opened a new walkway in Newtownforbes, County Longford.

The national planning framework is another important policy, which is a big influence on balanced regional development, rural housing, remote working, etc. There is a range of different ways through which we can make sure that policies are rural-proofed.