Land Commissioners' Pension Scheme, 1979.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: This Scheme may be cited as the Land Commissioners' Pension Scheme, 1979.
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paragraphs: This Scheme, other than Article 12 (2), shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of June, 1979.
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paragraphs: In this Scheme—
"Land Commissioner" means a Commissioner (other than the Judicial Commissioner) of the Irish Land Commission;
"medical certificate" means, in relation to the retirement of any person, a medical certificate having regard to which the Minister of State is satisfied that the person to whom the certificate relates is incapable from infirmity of mind or body of discharging the duties of his office and that that infirmity is likely to be permanent;
"the Minister of State" means the Minister of State at the Department of the Public Service;
"preserved death gratuity", "preserved pension" and "preserved lump sum" have, except in paragraph (a) of Article 12 (1), the meaning assigned to them, respectively, by Article 10 (1) of this Scheme;
"salary" means the salary attaching to the office of Land Commissioner on the day the person concerned ceases to hold that office;
"superannuation benefit" means any annual allowance, additional allowance, gratuity, preserved pension, preserved lump sum, preserved lump sum, preserved death gratuity or refund of contributions made under the superannuation provisions and includes any transfer of reckonable service for superannuation purposes under arrangements approved of by the Minister of State;
"the superannuation provisions" means the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, together with any warrant or regulation made under these Acts, and any Scheme made under the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1976 (No. 15 of 1976), apart from this Scheme;
"the Widows' Scheme" means the Widows' and Children's (Miscellaneous Offices) Contributory Pension Scheme, 1978 ( S.I. No. 5 of 1978 );
"years" means a figure determined by the formula where A is the number of completed years in the period in question and B is any number of days additional to a completed year or a number of completed years in that period, and "year" shall be construed accordingly.
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paragraphs: This Scheme appiles to a person who—
( a ) holds the office of Land Commissioner at any time on or after the 1st day of June, 1979, and
( b ) has not at the time of his appointment to such office any service which may be reckoned for or in connection with the award of a superannuation benefit.
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paragraphs: (1) Where a person to whom this Scheme applies, having held the office of a Land Commissioner for a period of not less than five years, retires on or after reaching the age of sixty, or retires on a medical certificate, the Minister of State may, subject to paragraph (3) of this Article, grant him a pension equal to the aggregate of—
( a ) one-eightieth of his salary multiplied by the number of years of service as a Land Commissioner, and,
( b ) one-eightieth of his salary multiplied by the number of years (if any) of such service after the tenth.
(2) Where a person retires from the office of a Land Commissioner on a medical certificate, and his retirement is due solely to his infirmity, and that infirmity was not caused, or substantially caused, by deliberate or negligent action by the person, the Minister of State may, in his absolute discretion, decide that the pension payable to the person under paragraph (1) of this Article may, subject to paragraph (3) of this Article, be increased by:
( a ) if his length of service as a Land Commissioner was at least five years but does not exceed ten years, an amount obtained by the formula here A is his salary and B is a number equal to the lesser of:
(i) the number of years of service he had as a Land Commissioner,
(ii) the number of years between the date of his retirement and the date on which he would attain the age of sixty-seven
( b ) if his length of service as a Land Commissioner was at least ten years but does not exceed twenty years, an amount obtained by the formula where A is his salary and B is a number equal to the greater of:
(i) the difference between twenty years and the number of years of service he had as a Land Commissioner, or if that difference is greater than the number of years between the date of his retirement and the date on which he would attain the age of sixty-seven, the said number of years between the said dates, or
(ii) six years and 243 days, or if that period is greater than the number of years between the date of his retirement and the date on which he would attain the age of sixty years, the said number of years between the said dates,
( c ) if his length of service as a Land Commissioner exceeds twenty years, an amount obtained by the formula where A is his salary and B is a number equal to six years and 243 days, or if that period is greater than the number of years between the date of his retirement and the date on which he would attain the age of sixty years, the said number of years between the said dates.
(3) Any pension granted under this Article, or any preserved pension under Article 10 of this Scheme, shall not exceed one-half of the salary of the person to whom it is granted and shall be subject to the provisions of the Pensions (Abatement) Act, 1965 (No. 13 of 1965), as though it were a pension under the superannuation provisions.
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paragraphs: Where a person is granted a pension under this Scheme, the Minister of State may also grant him a lump sum equal to one and one-half times the amount of the pension (including any portion surrendered under Article 7 of this Scheme).
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paragraphs: A person to whom a pension is granted under this Scheme, otherwise than on retirement on a medical certificate, may surrender portion of the pension in return for a pension for his wife or one other named dependant, and the Superannuation Act, 1956 (No. 38 of 1956), and the regulations made thereunder shall apply to a surrender under this Article as if it were a surrender under that Act.
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paragraphs: Where a person to whom this Scheme applies dies while holding the office of a Land Commissioner and the aggregate of—
( a ) the period of his service as a Land Commissioner, and
( b ) the period between the date of his death and the date on which he would have reached the age of sixty-seven years,
equals or exceeds five years, the Minister of State may grant to the person's personal representative a gratuity equal to the person's salary.
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paragraphs: Where a person who has been granted a pension and lump sum under this Scheme dies and the total received by him and receivable by his estate is less than the salary on which his pension is based, the Minister of State may grant to the person's personal representative a gratuity equal to the deficiency.
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paragraphs: (1) ( a ) A Land Commissioner, who has held office for at least five years and who voluntarily vacates his office before attaining the age of sixty years and who does not receive any other superannuation benefit in respect of service rendered while holding that office, may on attaining the age of sixty qualify under this Article for a pension and lump sum payment (which pension and payment are in this Scheme referred to as a "preserved pension" and "preserved lump sum", respectively).
( b ) If a person referred to in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph dies before attaining the age of sixty, a sum (in this Scheme referred to as a "preserved death gratuity") shall be payable to the person's personal representative by the Minister of State in respect of him.
( c ) A preserved lump sum or preserved death gratuity shall be payable to or in respect of the person concerned on an application being made to the Minister of State by him at any time after he reaches the age of sixty or, in case he dies before reaching that age, by his personal representative.
( d ) A preserved pension shall be payable to the person concerned on and from his attaining the age of sixty on an application being made by him in that behalf.
(2) A preserved pension may not exceed an amount obtained by the formula—
where,
A is the aggregate, subject to a maximum of 40, of—
(i) the number of years of service as a Land Commissioner which the person would have had if he had served to the age of sixty-seven, and
(ii) the number of years of such service (if any) in excess of ten,
B is his salary, as increased by reference to pensions increases which may be granted under regulations made under the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1964 (No. 10 of 1964), in the interval between the date on which he ceased to hold the office of a Land Commissioner and the date on which he attains sixty years of age.
C is the number of years of service as a Land Commissioner which the person gave, and
D is the number of years in the period between the date on which the person ceased to hold such office and the date on which he would attain the age of sixty-seven.
(3) A preserved lump sum or preserved death gratuity may not exceed an amount obtained by the formula—
where A, C and D have the meanings assigned to them, respectively, by paragraph (2) of this Article, and where B—
( a ) in case a preserved lump sum is payable, has the meaning assigned to it by the said paragraph (2), or
( b ) in case a preserved death gratuity is payable, is the salary of the person concerned, as increased by reference to pensions increases which may be made under the regulations referred to in paragraph (2) of this Regulation in the interval between the date on which he ceases to hold the office of a Land Commissioner and the date of his death.
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paragraphs: (1) An award under this Scheme and an award under the superannuation provisions shall not be made to or in respect of the same person.
(2) ( a ) Before an award under this Scheme is made, the person to whom the award is to be made, or in case he dies his personal representative, shall notify the Minister of State of any sum or sums paid or payable to or in respect of him on retirement, resignation or death as a result of employment preceding the date on which he became a Land Commissioner, or of any refund of contributions under a pension scheme applicable to that employment, and, subject to subparagraph (b) of this paragraph, the Minister of State may, in his absolute discretion, reduce any pension, lump sum or gratuity under this Scheme by such amount as he thinks fit to take account of such sum or sums.
( b ) A reduction under this paragraph shall not be such as to reduce a pension, lump sum or gratuity under this Scheme to an amount which is less than the amount which would be appropriate if the person concerned's superannuation benefit were calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Superannuation Acts, 1834 to 1963, other than section 6 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1963 (No. 24 of 1963).
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paragraphs: (1) Notwithstanding anything contained therein, the Widows' Scheme shall apply to or in respect of a person to whom this Scheme applies with the following modifications:
( a ) the definition of "the deceased's pension" in Article 3 (1) of that Scheme shall be construed and have effect as if—
(i) "a preserved pension" were deleted from paragraph (e);
(ii) the following paragraphs were inserted after paragraph (g),
"( h ) in case a preserved pension within the meaning of the Land Commissioners' Pension Scheme, 1979, was in payment to the deceased, the amount of such preserved pension,
( i ) in case, having resigned with entitlement to a preserved pension within such meaning, the deceased dies before reaching the age of sixty or before making application for such a preserved pension, an amount obtained by the formula—
but not exceeding,
where,
A is the aggregate of—
(i) the number of years of service as a Land Commissioner which the deceased would have had if he had served till reaching the age of sixty-seven, and
(ii) the number of years (if any) of such service in excess of ten,
B is his salary as a Land Commissioner as increased by reference to pensions increases which may be granted under regulations made under the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1964 , in the interval between the day of his resignation and his death,
C is the number of years of service as a Land Commissioner which the deceased gave, and
D is the number of years in the period between the date of the deceased's resignation and the date on which he would have attained the age of sixty-seven years;";
( b ) in the said Scheme the expressions "preserved death gratuity", "preserved lump sum" and "preserved pension" shall each be construed as including, respectively, a reference to a preserved death gratuity within the meaning of this Scheme, a preserved lump sum within such meaning and a preserved pension within such meaning;
( c ) Articles 10 (2) ( b ) and 11 (8) ( a ) (ii) of that Scheme shall not apply; and
( d ) subparagraphs (iii), (iv) and (v) of Article 11 (8) of that Scheme shall be construed as if each of the references in those subparagraphs to the Superannuation Acts included a reference to this Scheme.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained therein, where a member of the Widows' Scheme ceased to hold the office of Land Commissioner before the 1st day of June, 1979, that Scheme shall, with effect from the date of such cesser or the 1st day of June, 1973, whichever is the later, apply in respect of him as if the reference to "the deceased's pension" in Article 3 (1) of that Scheme were a reference to a pension calculated in accordance with this Scheme.