53.— (1) Where a Scheme member or a member of a pre-existing public service pension scheme—

(a) is dismissed, retired or discharged, or resigns or retires, as a consequence of misconduct involving a finding of a financial loss to the public service body or the State, or

(b) otherwise ceases to hold employment—

(i) as a consequence of misconduct involving a finding of a financial loss to the public service body or the State, or

(ii) in contemplation of such a finding which is subsequently made,

then the relevant authority may, in order to make good the loss together with compound interest at a rate as may be determined by the Minister from time to time for the purpose of making good the value of the loss, take any action set out in subsection (2).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the relevant authority may—

(a) where contributions would, but for this section, be returned to—

(i) a Scheme member under section 17, or

(ii) a member of a pre-existing public service pension scheme,

reduce or not return the amount of such returnable contributions,

(b) in any other case (including a case to which provisions relating to death in service or retirement on medical grounds relate), refuse or reduce any preserved pension, any preserved lump sum or any other benefit with effect on and from the date the person ceases to hold employment which might otherwise be duly payable.

(3) Where a pension is being paid to a person under this Part or under a pre-existing public service pension scheme in respect of his or her service in one or more than one public service body and that person is convicted by any court of an offence in the commission of which a financial loss to a public service body or the State has occurred, then the Minister or any other relevant authority concerned may reduce or cease paying a pension awarded under this Part in order to make good such loss together with compound interest at a rate as may be determined by the Minister from time to time for the purpose of making good the value of the loss.

(4) Interest to which this section relates shall be charged in respect of the period between the date on which the loss was incurred and the date of the final payment.