Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act 1998

PART I Preliminary and General

1 Short title, construction and collective citation.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act, 1998.

(2) This Act, in so far as it extends or amends the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Acts, 1938 to 1996, shall be construed as one with those Acts and all of them may be cited together as the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Acts, 1938 to 1998.

(3) This Act, in so far as it extends or amends the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts, 1938 to 1996, shall be construed as one with those Acts and all of them may be cited together as the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts, 1938 to 1998.

(4) This Act, in so far as it amends the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts, 1961 to 1995, shall be construed as one with those Acts and all of them may be cited together as the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts, 1961 to 1998.

(5) This Act, in so far as it amends the Courts of Justice and Court Officers (Superannuation) Act, 1961, shall be construed as one with the Court Officers Acts, 1926 to 1995, and all of them may be cited together as the Court Officers Acts, 1926 to 1998.

2 Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act—

“the Act of 1938” means the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act, 1938;

“the Act of 1960” means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1960;

“the Act of 1961” means the Courts of Justice and Court Officers (Superannuation) Act, 1961;

“the Act of 1962” means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act, 1962;

“the Act of 1964” means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1964;

“the Act of 1977” means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices (Amendment) Act, 1977;

“the Act of 1991” means the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 1991;

“the Act of 1992” means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1992;

“the Act of 1994” means the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Act, 1994;

“the Act of 1996” means the Oireachtas (Miscellaneous Provisions) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1996;

“court officer” means a Master of the High Court, Taxing Master or County Registrar;

“the Principal Act” means—

(a) in Part II, the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act, 1938, and

(b) in Part III, the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961.

(2) A reference in this Act to another enactment is to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment, including this Act.

PART II Provisions Relating to Members of the Oireachtas and Parliamentary and Ministerial Offices

3 Allowances to whips and others.

3.—(1) The Government may, by order—

(a) provide for the payment, to the extent specified in the order, to a member of the Oireachtas who holds the position of—

(i) Party Whip in Dáil Éireann,

(ii) Assistant Government Whip in Dáil Éireann,

(iii) Leader of the House in Seanad Éireann,

(iv) Deputy Leader of the House in Seanad Éireann,

(v) Government Whip in Seanad Éireann,

(vi) Assistant Government Whip in Seanad Éireann,

(vii) Opposition Leaders in Seanad Éireann, or

(viii) Opposition Whips in Seanad Éireann,

of an allowance in respect of the member's duties as holder of that position, and

(b) determine from time to time—

(i) the positions in respect of which an allowance is to be paid,

(ii) the rate of the allowance, and

(iii) the date from which the allowance is payable.

(2) An order under this section may provide for different rates of allowance for different positions and different dates from which the allowance is payable in respect of different positions.

(3) In this section—

“Assistant Government Whip in Dáil Éireann” means a member of Dáil Éireann nominated by the Taoiseach to be the holder of that position;

“Assistant Government Whip in Seanad Éireann”, “Deputy Leader of the House in Seanad Éireann” and “Government Whip in Seanad Éireann” mean the members of Seanad Éireann nominated by the Taoiseach to be the holders of the respective positions;

“Leader of the House in Seanad Éireann” has the meaning that “Leader of the House” has in the Standing Orders of Seanad Éireann;

“Opposition Leader in Seanad Éireann” means the member of Seanad Éireann who is the leader of a group having not less than two members in opposition in Seanad Éireann;

“Opposition Whip in Seanad Éireann” means the member of Seanad Éireann who is the whip of a group not having less than two members in opposition in Seanad Éireann;

“Party Whip in Dáil Éireann” means the member of Dáil Éireann nominated by the leader of a party in Dáil Éireann, having not less than two members in Dáil Éireann, to be the whip of that party.

4 Allowances to chairpersons, etc., of Oireachtas Committees.

4.—(1) The Government may, by order—

(a) provide for the payment, to the extent specified in the order, to a member of the Oireachtas who holds the position of—

(i) chairperson of an Oireachtas Committee or sub-committee, or

(ii) vice-chairperson of or whip to an Oireachtas Committee,

of an annual allowance in respect of the member's duties as holder of that position, and

(b) determine from time to time—

(i) the Oireachtas Committees, sub-committees and positions in respect of which the allowance is to be paid,

(ii) the rate of the allowance, and

(iii) the date from which the allowance is payable.

(2) An order under this section may provide for—

(a) different rates for different Oireachtas Committees and subcommittees and for different positions with different Committees and sub-committees, and

(b) different dates from which the allowance is payable for different Oireachtas Committees and sub-committees.

(3) In this section and in section 5 of this Act—

“Oireachtas Committee” means—

(a) a committee appointed by order of either or both Houses of the Oireachtas,

(b) the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body,

(c) the All Party Committee on Strategic Management Initiative, and

(d) such other committee as may be specified by order of the Government and that consists of members of the Oireachtas appointed to the committee in a manner similar to the manner in which members are appointed to the committee referred to in paragraph (c);

“sub-committee” means a sub-committee of an Oireachtas Committee.

5 Allocations for allowances to other Committee members.

5.—(1) The Government may, by order—

(a) provide for the allocation to the chairperson of an Oireachtas Committee of an annual amount to enable allowances to be paid, at rates determined by that Committee, to—

(i) members of the Committee, or

(ii) members of any of its sub-committees,

other than those holding the positions mentioned in section 3 or 4 of this Act, in respect of the performance of specific duties that are assigned to them by the Committee or sub-committee and that relate to its operation, and

(b) determine from time to time—

(i) the Oireachtas Committees in respect of which allocations are to be made,

(ii) the amount of the allocation, and

(iii) the date from which the allocation is payable.

(2) An order under this section may provide for—

(a) different amounts by way of allocation for different Oireachtas Committees, and

(b) different dates from which the allocation is payable for different Oireachtas Committees.

6 Payment of allowances.

6.—(1) An allowance under section 3, 4 or 5 of this Act—

(a) shall be payable in addition to the annual sum by way of salary payable to the member concerned under section 2 (as amended by the Act of 1992) of the Principal Act,

(b) shall not be payable in respect of a period for which such salary is not payable, and

(c) shall not be payable to a member who holds an office referred to in Part II (as amended by the Act of 1977) of the Act of 1938.

(2) If a member is eligible during any period to receive more than one of the allowances provided for in sections 3, 4 and 5 of this Act, only the higher or highest of those allowances shall be paid or payable to the member during that period.

(3) Allowances which are payable under section 3 or 4 of this Act, and allocations which are to be provided under section 5 of this Act, shall be paid and provided out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

7 Increase of allowances and allocations corresponding with general increase of remuneration in Civil Service.

7.—(1) Whenever, on or after the passing of this Act, there is a general increase of remuneration in the Civil Service with effect from a particular day, pursuant to agreements or arrangements having effect on a general basis throughout the Civil Service, the allowances payable under sections 3 and 4 of this Act and the allocations made under section 5 of this Act shall be increased correspondingly with effect from that day without an order being made under this Act in respect of any such increases.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply whether or not the agreements or arrangements referred to in that subsection apply also in relation to persons employed other than in the Civil Service.

(3) In this section, “the Civil Service” has the meaning assigned to it by the Civil Service Commissioners Act, 1956.

8 Orders relating to allowances under sections 3 and 4 and allocations under section 5.

8.—(1) An order under section 3, 4 or 5 of this Act may, if so expressed, have retrospective effect.

(2) The power to make an order under section 3, 4 or 5 of this Act includes the power to amend or revoke the order.

(3) Every order made under section 3, 4 or 5 of this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order has been laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

9 Amendment of Principal Act—travelling facilities.

9.—(1) Section 4 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) References in subsection (1) to a member of the Oireachtas shall be construed as including a former Taoiseach, or any other former office holder, who is not currently an office holder and who has the use of a State car while continuing to serve as a member.”,

and

(b) by the deletion of subsections (3) and (4).

(2) Subsection (1)(a) shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 6th day of June, 1997, and subsection (1)(b) shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1997.

10 Amendment of Principal Act—deductions for contributory pension scheme.

10.—Section 6A (inserted by the Act of 1960) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) A scheme to which this section applies shall have effect in accordance with its terms and the Minister shall, in accordance with regulations—

(a) make deductions from the allowances paid to members of the Oireachtas under this Act and sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices (Amendment) Act, 1998, and

(b) pay those deductions into the fund maintained pursuant to the scheme.”.

11 Amendment of Act of 1938—allowances for qualifying parties, etc.

11.—(1) Section 10 (inserted by the Act of 1996) of the Act of 1938 is hereby amended—

(a) by the deletion of subsection (3),

(b) in subsection (4) by the substitution of “There” for “Subject to subsection (8) of this section, there”,

(c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(4A) Subject to the approval of the Minister for Finance and to such exceptions, restrictions and conditions as may be provided for by regulations, there may be provided to a qualifying party secretarial facilities for the purposes of facilitating the Parliamentary activities of its elected members.”,

and

(d) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (8):

“(8) Any allowance which is payable, and any facility which is to be provided, by virtue of this section shall be paid and provided in addition to any other allowance or salary payable, or any other facility provided, under the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Acts, 1938 to 1998, or the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts, 1938 to 1998.”.

(2) Subsection (3) of section 10 (inserted by the Act of 1996) of the Act of 1938 shall be deemed never to have had effect and accordingly any amount by which an allowance was reduced under that section shall be repaid to the person whose allowance was reduced.

12 Amendment of Act of 1938—ministerial and secretarial pensions.

12.—Section 13A (inserted by the Act of 1992) of the Act of 1938 is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (4) by the deletion of “Provided that any fraction of a year in the result obtained under paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection shall be disregarded.”,

(b) in subsection (5) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) A pension under this section shall be at the rate of 25 per cent. of the appropriate salary, plus 5 per cent. of the appropriate salary for each additional year of service in excess of 3 years, portions of a year being reckoned on a pro-rata basis, subject to a maximum of 7 such additional years.”,

and

(c) in subsection (5)(b) by the substitution of the following sub paragraph for subparagraph (ii):

“(ii) as respects a secretarial pension—

(I) in case the person concerned—

(A) held a ministerial office on or after the 1st day of January, 1978, or

(B) has served for not less than 3 years in a qualifying office, or in a number of such offices, other than an office which became a qualifying office by virtue of section 5(1) of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices (Amendment) Act, 1983,

the annual sum payable for the time being by way of salary to the holder of the office of Minister of State,

(II) in any other case, the annual sum payable for the time being by way of salary in respect of the last qualifying office, other than a ministerial office, held by the person concerned,

or, where greater, the weighted average of the salaries payable to the current holder of each of the qualifying offices held by the person concerned, calculated as follows:

(C) the number of days for which the person concerned held a qualifying office shall be multiplied by the annual sum payable for the time being by way of salary to the holder of the qualifying office;

(D) the sum of the results obtained in accordance with subclause (C) in relation to each qualifying office held by the person concerned shall be divided by the total number of days (subject to a maximum of 3,650 days) for which that person held a qualifying office:

Provided that, for the purposes of subclause (C), the total number of days reckoned shall not exceed 3,650 days and time served in a qualifying office the current holder of which has a higher salary than the current holder of another qualifying office formerly held by the person concerned shall be reckoned before time served in the other qualifying office.”.

13 Amendment of Act of 1938—pro-rata pensions.

13.—The Act of 1938 is hereby amended—

(a) in section 13B (inserted by the Act of 1992) by the substitution in subsection (5)(b) of “shall be reckoned on a pro-rata basis” for “shall be disregarded”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following section after section 13B:

“Pro-rata pensions.

13C.—(1) This section applies to a person who—

(a) is in receipt of a pension that—

(i) is calculated in accordance with section 13D, 14 or 16 of this Act, and

(ii) is less than the pension payable to a person with not less than 8 years of pensionable service, and

(b) is not in receipt of a supplementary pension under section 13B of this Act.

(2) Where in calculating the original pension of a person to whom this section applies a fraction of a year was disregarded under section 14(4)(b) or 16(4)(a) of this Act, that person's pension under section 14 or 16, as appropriate, may be increased by an amount calculated in accordance with the formula—

F (ZY) S _ 100

Where—

F is the fraction so disregarded;

Z is the percentage amount of appropriate salary which would have been payable under section 14 or 16 of this Act, as the case may be, if the person concerned had completed one further year of pensionable service;

Y is the percentage amount of the appropriate salary which is payable under section 14 or 16 of this Act;

S is the appropriate salary.

(3) In this section—

‘appropriate salary’, in relation to a person to whom this section applies, means the salary on the basis of which the person's pension is calculated under section 14 or 16 of this Act, as appropriate;

‘original pension’, in relation to a person to whom this section applies, means the pension to which that person was entitled under section 14 or 16 of this Act, as appropriate, on the operative date, or, if the person held a qualifying office on that date, the pension to which he would have been so entitled had he ceased to hold office on that date;

‘pensionable service’ means pensionable service within the meaning of section 14 or 16 of this Act, as appropriate.”.

14 Amendment of Act of 1938—averaging of service.

14.—(1) The Act of 1938 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 13C (inserted by the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Act, 1998):

“Averaging of ministerial and secretarial service for secretarial pension.