S.I. No. 300/1992 - Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions (Amendment) Scheme, 1992.

S.I. No. 300 of 1992.

HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS (MEMBERS) PENSIONS (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1992.

I, BERTIE AHERN, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 6A (as amended by section 4 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial, Parliamentary and Judicial Offices (Amendment) Act, 1983 (No. 32 of 1983)) of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) Act, 1938 (No. 34 of 1938), hereby make the following scheme:

1. This Scheme may be cited as the Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions (Amendment) Scheme, 1992.

2. This Scheme shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of May, 1989.

3. In this Scheme "The Principal Scheme" means the Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions Scheme as defined in section 1 of the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Amendment) Act, 1992 (No. 3 of 1992).

4. The Principal Scheme is hereby amended—

( a ) by the insertion after subclause (11) of Clause 5 of the following subclause:

"(12) Notwithstanding the provision relating to cesser of widowhood in subclause (10) of this Clause, where a widow's pension under this Scheme is withheld or ceases by virtue of the said provision, and at a subsequent date to the date of the remarriage by reason of which the widow's pension was withheld or ceased, the Trustees are satisfied that the remarriage has come to an end, or that there are compassionate grounds for the payment of the widow's pension, the Trustees may, if they think fit, grant or regrant, as may be appropriate, the widow's pension as from—

(i) in case the remarriage has come to an end, the date on which the marriage ended or the 1st day of May, 1989, whichever date is the later, and

(ii) in any other case, a date not earlier than the date on which the relevant application is received by the Trustees.", and

( b ) in subclause (1) (b) of Clause 5C, by the substitution of "subject to Clause 5 (11), if the person is survived by a widow, a pension to the widow in accordance with the provisions of Clause 5 (10) and, where appropriate, Clause 5 (12), with the modifications that, for the purpose of the computation of the widow's pension —" for "if the person is survived by a widow, a pension to the widow of an amount computed in accordance with Clause 5 (10) of this Scheme with the modifications that, for the purpose of the computation–".

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 16th day of October, 1992.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Scheme amends the Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Pensions Scheme by inserting a provision, effective from 1 May 1989, pertaining to any widow's pension awarded under the scheme which ceases to be paid on the remarriage of the recipient. The new provision enables the Trustees of the Scheme, at their discretion, to resume payment of the widow's pension in certain specified circumstances (e.g. where the remarriage ends by reason of the death of the second husband). These arrangements will also apply, as appropriate, to the widowers of female members of the Oireachtas, who are entitled to pension benefits on the same basis as the widows of male members.