Heritage Act, 1995

Superannuation of staff.

20.—(1) As soon as may be after its establishment the Council shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme or schemes for the granting of superannuation benefits on retirement or death to or in respect of such persons of its staff as the Council shall think fit.

(2) Every such scheme shall fix the time and conditions of retirement for all persons to or in respect of whom superannuation benefits are payable under the scheme and different times and conditions may be fixed in respect of different classes of persons.

(3) The Council may at any time prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme amending a scheme previously submitted and approved under this section.

(4) A scheme or amending scheme submitted to the Minister under this section shall, if approved of by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, be carried out by the Council in accordance with its terms.

(5) If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any superannuation benefit payable in pursuance of a scheme under this section, such dispute shall be submitted to the Minister who shall refer it to the Minister for Finance, whose decision shall be final.

(6) No superannuation benefit shall be granted by the Council to or in respect of any of its staff who are members of a scheme under this section, nor shall any other arrangement be entered into for the provision of a superannuation benefit to such persons on ceasing to hold office, other than in accordance with such scheme or schemes submitted and approved of under this section.

(7) In this section “superannuation benefits” means pensions, gratuities and other allowances payable on resignation, retirement or death.

(8) The Minister shall cause every scheme submitted and approved of under this section to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is approved of and if either House, within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the scheme is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling the scheme, the scheme shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(9) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4) of section 18 that section shall be construed as prohibiting the reckoning of a period therein mentioned as service with the Council for the purposes of any pensions, gratuities or other allowances payable under a scheme or schemes made in accordance with this section.