Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has confirmed to Independent TD Carol Nolan that all members of An Garda Síochána employed post 1995 will be unable to access their full state pension entitlements until they are age 66.
Following compulsory retirement at the age of 60, Garda members will have to apply for social welfare benefits such as Jobseekers Benefit ‘to fill the gap’ between the age of retirement and 66, the Minister told the Laois Offaly TD.
The Minister went on to note that as Jobseekers Benefit is only available for 9 months this will further entail all post 1995 retired Garda members being obliged to seek a letter from the Department of Social Protection to avail of the supplementary pension to make up the shortfall until they can receive the full state pension at age 66.
The Garda representative associations are understood to have raised the matter with the minister as the process involves retired members having to apply in their local social welfare offices before availing of their supplementary pension:
“This is an issue that is generating considerable unease and anger among the ordinary rank and file gardaí, and it is one that needs to be resolved immediately,” said Deputy Nolan.
“Many of the members who have contacted me are deeply frustrated that they will be forced to seek work, which is a condition of Jobseekers Benefit, despite the fact that they may have given up to 30 years of pension contributions as well as an unstinting and relentless dedication to a vital and increasingly dangerous occupation.”
“Minister McEntee has told me that she has raised this matter with Minister Paschal Donohoe and indeed Minister Heather Humphries as part of ongoing efforts to establish a more ‘streamlined approach’ to the matter. I welcome that but clearly the matter needs to be resolved quickly.”
“I have also had numerous representations made to me from the Garda Síochána Retired Members Association concerning the proposed discontinuation of the longstanding pay/pension parity link for Garda members.”
“Government must address these issues urgently as there is already a clear sense among rank-and-file members that the sacrifices they make for the public and indeed for the state, are not fully appreciated or valued,” concluded Deputy Nolan.