MORE THAN 100 retired civil servants are receiving pensions of more than €100,000 per year.
Official figures show that there are seven retired Civil Service personnel who are in receipt of pensions of between €140,000 and €160,000 a year.
A further 40 retired civil servants have pensions of between €120,000 and €140,000 while 58 are receiving pensions of between €100,000 and €120,000.
Six retired Civil Service personnel have pensions of between €90,000 and €100,000.
Details of the extent of pensions being paid to retired top-level civil servants comes just weeks after the controversy surrounding the retirement package of the former secretary general of the Department of the Taoiseach Dermot McCarthy, who stepped down in the summer.
In addition to an annual pension of €142,670, Mr McCarthy was also paid a once-off lump sum of €428,011.
He was also entitled to another special severance payment of €142,670.
Overall the State is paying pensions to 18,993 retired Civil Service staff or spouses of deceased Civil Service pensioners.
The vast bulk of retired civil service staff receive relatively modest pension payments.
Over 14,800 retired Civil Servants or spouses of deceased civil servants receive pensions of less than €30,000.
Just under 3,000 are in receipt of pensions of between €30,000 and €50,000.
The figures for pension payments for retired civil servants were provided by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin to Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin in answer to a parliamentary question.
Separately figures from the Department of Education show that 286 retired teachers or other former school staff are receiving pensions of between €50,000 and €70,000. The vast bulk of such staff, totalling more than 14,000, are receiving pensions of between €30,000 and €50,000.
The education figures relate to retired primary, secondary, community and comprehensive school teachers along with retired special needs assistants and some retired school clerical and caretaking staff.
Ms McDonald last night called on the Government to introduce changes to pension rules for retired Civil Service personnel.
She said the Government’s new public service pensions Bill “will not comprehensively right this wrong as it does not conclusively deal with existing public sector workers, it only does so for new entrants”.
Under the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme) and Remuneration Bill 2011, new entrants’ pension will be based on an average of career earnings rather than their final salary at retirement, as at present.
