Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1938

Pensions to former holders οf secretarial offices.

16

16.—(1) Where a person, who does not hold a qualifying office on the date of the passing of this Act, held a secretarial office before that date and his pensionable service on that date is three years or more, such person shall become entitled on the date of the passing of this Act to a pension (in this Act referred to as a secretarial pension).

(2) Where—

(a) a person who holds a qualifying office on or after the date of the passing of this Act ceases to hold a qualifying office, and

(b) his pensionable service is on the date of such cesser three years or more, and

(c) such person is not on the date of such cesser entitled to a ministerial pension or a pension under sub-section (1) of this section or this sub-section,

F67[such person shall on the date of such cesser become entitled to a pension (in this Act also referred to as a secretarial pension) but only for so long as such person is not a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a member of the European Parliament.]

F68[(3) A secretarial pension shall be at the following rates, that is to say:

so long as the pensionable service of the person entitled thereto is less than four years, twenty-eight per cent. of the annual sum payable for the time being by way of salary to a Parliamentary Secretary,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than five years but not less than four years, thirty-two per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than six years but not less than five years, thirty-seven per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than seven years but not less than six years, forty-two per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than eight years but not less than seven years, forty-six per cent. of the sum aforesaid,

in case such person's pensionable service is not less than eight years, fifty-one per cent. of the sum aforesaid.]

(4) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the number of years of pensionable service of a person shall be taken to be the result obtained by dividing the number of days of his pensionable service by the number three hundred and sixty-five, any fraction over being disregarded;

(b) the pensionable service of a person shall be the sum of each period which such person is entitled to reckon as a period of pensionable service under the subsequent provisions of this sub-section;

(c) each of the following periods shall in respect of any person be a period of pensionable service—

(i) if he held ministerial office before the 11th day of July, 1921, a period equal to twice the length of any period before that day during which he held ministerial office.

(ii) if he held ministerial office on or after the 11th day of July, 1921, any period commencing on or after that day during which he held ministerial office, subject however to this limitation, namely, that if he was during any period a member of the Cabinet in the Second Dáil Eireann or the Third Dáil Eireann and also a member of the Provisional Government, such period shall not be reckonable as a period during which he was both a member of such Cabinet and also a member of the Provisional Government,

(iii) any period during which he held any secretarial office.

(5) A secretarial pension shall, for the purposes of sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Military Service Pensions Act, 1924 (No. 48 of 1924), or sub-section (1) of section 20 of the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934 (No. 43 of 1934), be deemed not to be a pension or allowance payable out of public moneys.

Annotations

Amendments:

F67

Substituted (see below) by Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009 (29/2009), s. 4(2)(b), commenced as per subs. (3). Subs. (3) provides:

(3) Subsection (2) comes into operation—

(a) in the case of membership of Dáil Éireann, on and from the election or deemed election to Dáil Éireann of the person concerned consequent on the holding of a general election for a new Dáil Éireann which first occurs after the passing of this Act,

(b) in the case of membership of Seanad Éireann, on and from the election or nomination to Seanad Éireann of the person concerned consequent on the holding of a general election for a new Seanad Éireann which first occurs after the passing of this Act, and

(c) in the case of a member of the European Parliament, on and from the first day of the European Parliament parliamentary term consequent on the first holding of elections for the European Parliament after the passing of this Act.

F68

Substituted (9.07.1968) by Oireachtas (Allowances To Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1968 (22/1968), s. 11, commenced on enactment as per s. 10(4).

Modifications (not altering text):

C19

Reference to "annual sum payable" under subs. (3) construed (15.11.1983) by Oireachtas (Allowances To Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices (Amendment) Act 1983 (32/1983), s. 5(2), commenced on enactment.

5. — ...

(2) In determining the rate of pension under subsection (3) (inserted by the Act of 1968) of section 16 of the Act of 1938 payable to a person who ceases to hold a qualifying office and to whom that section applies by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, the references in the said subsection (3) to the annual sum payable by way of salary to a Parliamentary Secretary shall be construed as references to the annual sum payable by way of salary to the person immediately before such cesser as the holder of that qualifying office.

C20

Section applied with modifications (1.01.1978) by Oireachtas (Allowances To Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices (Amendment) Act 1983 (32/1983), s. 7, commenced on enactment.

Amendment of section 16 of Act of 1938.

7.—Where, in relation to a person who ceases or ceased to hold ministerial office on or after the 1st day of January, 1978—

(a) the pensionable service (which expression has in this section the same meaning as in the Act of 1938) of the person by reference to his period of ministerial office is or was less than 3 years, and

(b) the pensionable service of the person includes pensionable service by reference to a period of secretarial office (within the meaning of the Act of 1938) other than as a Minister of State,

any pension to which the person is entitled under section 16 of the Act of 1938 shall be calculated by reference to the salary that, in the opinion of the Minister, would have been payable to him if he had held the office of Minister of State throughout the period during which he held such a secretarial office as aforesaid and shall not be calculated by reference to the salary payable to him as the holder of such a secretarial office as aforesaid.

C21

Application of section extended (1.01.1978) by Oireachtas (Allowances To Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices (Amendment) Act 1977 (29/1977), s. 9, S.I. No. 379 of 1977.

Consequential.

9.—(1) Where a person holding the office of Minister of State pursuant to an appointment under section 1 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1977, ceases to hold that office, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) he shall for the purposes of sections 14 and 16 of the Principal Act be regarded as having held secretarial office within the meaning of the Principal Act and each of the references in the said sections 14 and 16 to secretarial office shall be construed as including a reference to the aforesaid office of Minister of State, and

(b) in case subsection (3) (inserted by section 11 of the Act of 1968) of the said section 16 is applicable in relation to him, that subsection shall be construed and have effect as if the reference therein to a Parliamentary Secretary were a reference to a Minister of State so appointed.

(2) For the purpose of section 16 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 11 of the Act of 1968, the annual sum which would have been payable for the time being by way of salary to a Parliamentary Secretary shall be such sum as may be determined by the Minister for the Public Service.

C22

Term "Parliamentary Secretary" construed (24.06.1972) by Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 1972 (21/1972), s. 1(2), commenced on enactment.

Amendment of sections 13, 16 and 20 of Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act, 1938.

1.—...

(2) In applying section 16 (3) of the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act, 1938 (inserted by section 11 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1968) in relation to a pension payable because, and only because, a person held the office of Deputy Chairman of Dáil Éireann, the reference in that section to a Parliamentary Secretary shall be construed as a reference to the Deputy Chairman of Dáil Éireann.

...

Editorial Notes:

E102

Previous affecting provision: subs. (2) amended (21.07.2009) by Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act 2009 (29/2009), s. 4(1)(b), commenced on enactment; substituted (see note on dates) as per F-note above.

E103

Previous affecting provision: subs. (3) substituted (1.05.1960) by Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act 1960 (12/1960), s. 16, S.I. No. 82 of 1960; subs. (3) substituted (9.07.1968) as per F-note above.