S.I. No. 79/1956 - Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956 (Addition To Service) Regulations, 1956.

S.I. No. 79 of 1956.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT (SUPERANNUATION) ACT, 1956 (ADDITION TO SERVICE) REGULATIONS, 1956.

The Minister for Local Government in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 13 of the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956 , and of every other power in this behalf enabling him hereby makes the following Regulations :—

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956 (Addition to Service) Regulations, 1956.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of April, 1956.

3. In these Regulations, " the Act " means the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1956 (No. 10 of 1956) and " the Act of 1956 " means the Local Authorities (Officers and Employees) Act, 1926 (No. 39 of 1926).

4. (1) A local authority may, pursuant to section 13 of the act, and in accordance with these Regulations, add a period to the pensionable local service of an officer in respect of any one or more, as may be appropriate, of the circumstances referred to, in paragraphs (a) to (g) of subsection (2) of the said section 13.

(2) The period added shall not exceed ten years or, where a period has been added under subsection (1) of section 13 of the act, shall not exceed the difference between that period and ten years.

(3) A local authority may, if they so think fit, add less than the maximum period permitted in accordance with these Regulations.

5. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other article of these Regulations, the following provisions shall apply to the addition pursuant to section 13 of the Act of a period to the pensionable local service of an officer :—

(a) subject to paragraph (b) of this article, a period shall not be added save for the purpose of the calculation of a lump sum under section 16 and an allowance under section 17 of the act ;

(b) a period added in accordance with paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 13 of the act which is regarded in pursuance of subsection (4) of the said section as pensionable local service shall not have the effect, in the case of a gratuity, of making the pensionable local service of an officer greater than five years ;

(c) a period shall not be added where the service of an officer amounts to forty years or more ;

(d) a period shall not be added so as to make the service of an officer greater than forty years ;

(e) where the pensionable remuneration of an officer (not being a rate collector) consists of salary and fees, and the amount of the fees during the last three years of his service was, in the opinion of the local authority, considerably greater than in the preceding period of three years, the period added to the pensionable local service of the officer shall not be such as to make the allowance payable to him under the Act greater than it would be if—

(i) his service were forty years, and

(ii) the fees were disregarded for the purpose of calculating his pensionable remuneration, or

(iii) his salary were an inclusive salary, inclusive of fees, of an amount equal to the salary appertaining to other offices of the same class, description and grade the holders of which are in receipt of an inclusive salary.

6. (1) Where an officer retires from an office which is—

(a) an office to which, at the time of the retirement, the Act of 1926 applies because the qualifications of the office are professional or

(b) an office of part-time dispensary midwife and the officer is a person whose name is entered on the register under section 28 of the act

the local authority may, subject to sub-article (2) of this article, add to his pensionable local service a period not exceeding one-third of such service.

(2) A period added because of either of the circumstances referred to in the preceding sub-article shall, in the case of an officer who retired otherwise than because of permanent infirmity of mind or body before attaining the age of sixty-five years, be reduced by the period by which his age at retirement falls short of sixty-five years.

7. (1) Where an officer retires because of permanent infirmity of mind or body before attaining the age limit for the office or, in case there is no age limit, before attaining the age of sixty-five years, the local authority may add to his pensionable local service a period not exceeding five years or half of the difference between such service (together with any period added in accordance with paragraphs (a), (d), (e) and (f) of subsection (2) of section 13 of the act) and forty years (whichever is the greater).

(2) A period added in respect of retirement because of permanent infirmity of mind or body shall not be such as to make the service of the officer for the purposes of Part II of the Act greater than his pensionable local service, together with any period added under section 13 of the act, would be if he were to continue in office until he attained the age of sixty-five years.

(3) A period shall not be added in respect of retirement because of permanent infirmity of mind or body if the infirmity of the officer is caused by his own default.

(4) A period shall not be added in respect of retirement because of permanent infirmity of mind or body unless the local authority are satisfied that the infirmity is permanent and is such as to prevent the officer from discharging his duties with reasonable efficiency and unless the officer gives to the local authority a certificate of a medical practitioner specifying the nature of the infirmity, the extent to which the officer is incapacitated and stating the opinion of the medical practitioner as to the permanency of the incapacity.

8. Where an officer retires from an office on account of an age limit and it had not been a condition of his appointment that he should retire at that age, the following provisions shall apply :—

(a) where he retires within four years of the first coming into operation of an age limit for the office, the local authority may add to his pensionable local service a period not exceeding half of the difference between his pensionable local service (together with any period added in accordance with paragraphs (a), (d), (e) and (f) of subsection (2) of section 13 of the act) and forty years or a period not exceeding five years (whichever is the greater), or

(b) where he retires four years or more after the first coming into operation of an age limit for the office, the local authority may add to his pensionable local service a period not exceeding whichever of the following periods is the greater :—

(i) one quarter of the difference between his pensionable local service (together with any period added inaccordance with paragraphs (a), (d), (e) and (f) of subsection (2) of section 13 of the act) and forty years or

(ii) whichever is the greater of the following, viz., five years or half of the difference between his pensionable local service (together with any period added in accordance with paragraphs (a), (d), (e) and (f) of subsection (2) of section 13 of the act) and forty years, the said five years and the said half being reduced by one year in respect of each six months and any odd period of less than six months during which he was an officer of a local authority between the fourth anniversary of the first coming into operation of an age limit for the office and his retirement.

9. Where an officer, before the commencement of Part II of the Act, was employed as a personal assistant by an officer of a local authority under an arrangement approved of by that local authority and the period of that employment was continuous with and preceded service as an officer of a local authority reckonable under this Act, the local authority may add to his pensionable local service a period not exceeding half the first-mentioned period or periods.

10. Where an officer, before the commencement of Part II of the Act, held an office in a permanent capacity for a period that would have been reckonable for the purposes of The act had it been immediately succeeded by service reckonable under The act, the local authority may add to his pensionable local service a period not exceeding half the first-mentioned period.

11. Where—

(i) during a period or continuous periods, an officer held an office or offices under a local authority or local authorities in a temporary capacity,

(ii) the period or periods would have been reckonable under the Act if he had held the office or offices during the period or periods in a permanent capacity, and

(iii) the period or periods was or were continuous with and immediately preceding service as an officer of a local authority reckonable under the Act,

the local authority may add to his pensionable local service a period not exceeding half the first-mentioned period or periods.

12. Where the aggregate service of the officer amounts to a number of completed years and a fraction of a year exceeding three-quarters, the local authority may add such period as will make a completed number of years of service.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Local Government this twenty-seventh day of March One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty-six.

PATRICK O'DONNELL,

Minister for Local Government