Children Act, 2001

Superannuation of staff.

184.—(1) As soon as may be after its appointment, a board of management shall prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme or schemes for the granting of superannuation benefits to or in respect of such of the staff (including the Director) of the children detention school or schools under its management as it thinks 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 or schemes, and different times and conditions may be fixed in respect of different classes of persons.

(3) A board of management may at any time prepare and submit to the Minister a scheme amending or revoking a scheme previously submitted and approved of under this section.

(4) A scheme or amending scheme submitted by a board of management 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 board in accordance with its terms.

(5) If any dispute arises as to the claim of any person to, or the amount of, any superannuation benefits in pursuance of a scheme or schemes 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 benefits shall be granted by a board of management to or in respect of any of its staff (including the Director) who are members of a scheme under this section, nor shall any other arrangement be entered into for the provision of any superannuation benefits to such persons on ceasing to hold office, otherwise than in accordance with a scheme or schemes submitted and approved of under this section.

(7) Superannuation benefits granted under schemes under this section to persons transferred under section 182 and the terms and conditions relating to those benefits shall not be less favourable to those persons than those to which they were entitled immediately before the commencement of this section.

(8) Where at any time during the period beginning on the commencement of this section and ending immediately before the coming into operation of a scheme under this section, a superannuation benefit falls due for payment to or in respect of a person who was transferred under section 182 , the benefit shall be calculated and paid by the relevant board of management in accordance with the scheme or such provisions in relation to superannuation as applied to the person immediately before the day this section comes into operation, and for that purpose that person's pensionable service with the board and previous pensionable service shall be aggregated.

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

Inspection of schools