Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Act, 1938

Pensions to former holders of ministerial offices.

14.—(1) Where—

(a) a person, who does not hold a qualifying office on the date of the passing of this Act, held a ministerial office before that date and his pensionable service on that date is three years or more, or

(b) a person has held a ministerial office before the 6th day of December, 1922, and has held before the date of the passing of this Act secretarial office for a period of not less than seven years,

such person shall become entitled on the date of the passing of this Act to a pension (in this Act referred to as a ministerial 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 pension under sub-section (1) of this section or this sub-section,

such person shall on the date of such cesser become entitled to a pension (in this Act also referred to as a ministerial pension).

(3) A ministerial 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, three hundred pounds per annum,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than five years, but not less than four years, three hundred and fifty pounds per annum,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than six years, but not less than five years, four hundred pounds per annum,

if and so long as such person's pensionable service is less than seven years, but not less than six years, four hundred and fifty pounds per annum,

in case such person's pensionable service is not less than seven years, five hundred pounds per annum.

(4) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the number of years during which a person held secretarial office shall be taken to be the result obtained by dividing the number of days during which such person held a secretarial office by the number three hundred and sixty-five, any fraction over being disregarded;

(b) 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;

(c) 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;

(d) 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) if his pensionable service as computed under the preceding provisions of this sub-section is three years or more and he had held secretarial office, or if paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of this section applies to him, a period equal to half the period during which he held any secretarial office.

(5) A ministerial 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.