S.I. No. 320/1985 - Great Southern Railways Company Pension Scheme For Regular Wages Staff (Amendment) Scheme (Confirmation) (No. 2) Order, 1985.

S.I. No. 320 of 1985.

GREAT SOUTHERN RAILWAYS COMPANY PENSION SCHEME FOR REGULAR WAGES STAFF (AMENDMENT) SCHEME (CONFIRMATION) (NO. 2) ORDER, 1985.

I, JIM MITCHELL, Minister for Communications, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 44 of the Transport Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950), and the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1983 (No. 40 of 1983), hereby, after consultation with the Minister for the Public Service, order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Great Southern Railways Company Pension Scheme for Regular Wages Staff (Amendment) Scheme (Confirmation) (No. 2) Order, 1985.

2. In this Order "the amending Scheme" means the scheme amending the Great Southern Railways Company Pension Scheme for Regular Wages Staff prepared by Córas Iompair Éireann and submitted to the Minister for Communications under section 44 of the Transport Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950), and set out in the Schedule to this Order.

3. The amending Scheme is hereby confirmed and shall be deemed to have come into operation on the operative date specified in the Schedule to this Order.

SCHEDULE

GREAT SOUTHERN RAILWAYS COMPANY PENSION SCHEME FOR REGULAR WAGES STAFF (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1985

1. Definitions:

In this amending Scheme "the existing Scheme" means the Great Southern Railways Company Pension Scheme for Regular Wages Staff as confirmed by the Transport Act, 1944 (Section 45) Order, 1945 ( S. R. & O. No. 55 of 1945 ) and as amended by an amending Scheme confirmed by the Minister for Industry and Commerce on the 31st of October, 1957 (hereinafter called the Order of 1957) and subsequently further amended by amending Schemes confirmed by Statutory Instruments numbered 57 of 1961, 49 of 1965, 8 of 1967, 59 of 1969, 78 of 1971, 250 of 1974, 289 of 1977, 75 of 1980, 182 of 1982 and 289 of 1985.

"Operative date" means the 1st of March, 1985 for the implementation of Articles 5, 6, 7 (1) (iii), 8 and 9 hereof and the date of the Order confirming this amending Scheme for the implementation of Articles 7 (1) (i) and (ii), and 7 (2) hereof.

2. (1) In this amending Scheme unless otherwise expressly stated words and expressions used shall have the meanings assigned to them by the existing Scheme.

(2) Wherever, in this amending Scheme, reference is made to a right to pension having accrued it is intended that such right accrues when the member, being then entitled to a Full Pension or a Reduced Pension, leaves the employment of the Board.

3. Continuation of the existing Scheme:

(1) The benefits provided by the existing Scheme shall continue to be paid or be payable under and in accordance with the terms thereof and without alteration to every former employee whose right to a pension of any kind accrued prior to the 1st of March, 1985 and to the personal representative of any deceased pensioner if the deceased's right to pension accrued prior to the 1st of March, 1985.

(2) Nothing in this amending Scheme shall affect the rights of any of the persons mentioned in the previous sub-article nor shall this amending Scheme affect any subsisting right accrued to or liability incurred by any person under the existing Scheme prior to the 1st of March, 1985.

4. Amendment of the existing Scheme:

(1) Subject to the provisions of Article 3 hereof, the existing Scheme shall be amended to conform to the provisions hereinafter contained and every provision of the existing Scheme which is inconsistent with the provisions hereinafter contained shall cease to have effect.

(2) The increased contributions and benefits provided for by this amending Scheme are, where applicable, in substitution for the corresponding contributions and benefits provided for by the existing Scheme.

5. Rate of Contribution:

The Table s of Rates of Contributions in Article 4 of the Schedule to Statutory Instrument No. 289 of 1977 shall be deleted and the following Table substituted therefor:—

6. Full Pension:

The full pensions (including alternative full pension) and the total payments set out in Table A hereunder shall be substituted for the like pensions and total payments set out in Table A of the existing Scheme as inserted by Article 5 of the Schedule to Statutory Instrument No. 289 of 1977 in respect of any pension the right to which accrues on or after the operative date.

TABLE A

7. Reduced Pension:

(1) Sub-article (1) of Article 9 of the Schedule to the Order of 1957 shall be amended in the following manner:

(i) the words "twenty years" shall be deleted and the words "ten years" substituted therefor;

(ii) the words "at any time within ten years of reaching the normal age of retirement" shall be deleted together with the punctuation marks preceding and following the same;

(iii) the words "calculated as follows" and paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be deleted and replaced by "calculated in accordance with Article 5 of the Schedule to Statutory Instrument No. 49 of 1965 .".

(2) If a member of this Scheme, being currently absent from duty on account of illness on the operative date, so elects and the Board at its discretion so agrees, sub-article (1) of Article 9 of the Schedule to of 1957 in its application to him during and upon the termination of his said absence from duty shall be unaffected by this amending Scheme.

8. Death of Employee:

Article 11A introduced by Statutory Instrument No. 7 of 1967 shall be deleted and the following substituted:—

"11A Death of Employee:

If a member dies while in the service of the Board and before retiring on pension, a lump sum shall be paid to his personal representative calculated at 52 times the basic weekly wage of which the member was in receipt at the date of his death or immediately prior to the commencement of sickness benefit as the case may be. The said lump sum shall be reduced by the amount of any mortality grant paid or payable out of the Board's Welfare Scheme for Regular Wages Staff and the member's contributions to the Fund shall not be returned.".

9. Refund of Contributions:

In sub-article (1) of Article 11 of the Schedule to the Order of 1957 the words "or due to his death in service" shall be inserted after the words "in accordance with Article 10".

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 30th day of September, 1985.

JIM MITCHELL,

Minister for Communications.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of the Order is to confirm a scheme to amend the existing pension scheme so as to provide for increased pensions and improved benefits for certain members of the scheme.