No. 32/1933:

GARDA SIOCHANA (PENSIONS) ACT, 1933

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Grants of pensions under this Act.

2 General provisions in respect of pensions under this Act.

3 Short title.

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE GRANTING OF PENSIONS TO COMMISSIONERS OF THE GÁRDA SÍOCHÁNA WHO HAVE BEEN OR SHALL BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE OTHERWISE THAN FOR INCAPACITY OR MISCONDUCT.

[29th September, 1933.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1.—(1) Where a Commissioner of the Gárda Síochána has been removed (whether before or after the passing of this Act) from the Gárda Síochána and, within whichever of the following periods later expires, that is to say, one month after the passing of this Act or six months after such removal, the President certifies in writing under his hand that such Commissioner was so removed for a reason other than incapacity or misconduct, the Minister for Finance may, on the recommendation of the Minister for Justice, grant and pay to such Commissioner a pension for his life of an amount calculated in accordance with this section and commencing on the cessation of the pay of such Commissioner.

(2) Every pension granted under this Act shall be calculated at the rate of one-sixtieth of the annual pay of which the person to whom such pension is granted was in receipt as Commissioner of the Gárda Síochána immediately before his removal therefrom for every completed year of his pensionable service (calculated in accordance with this section), together with, where such pensionable service amounts to or exceeds twenty-one completed years, an additional one-sixtieth of such annual pay for the twenty-first and every subsequent completed year of such pensionable service, but so that no such pension shall exceed two-thirds of such annual pay.

(3) The pensionable service of any person for the purposes of this Act shall be taken to be the number of completed years actually served by him in the Gárda Síochána together with—

( a ) where the said number of completed years is less than ten, the addition of either (as the Minister for Finance shall direct) such number of years as will bring the said number of completed years up to ten or a number of years equal to the said number of completed years, or

( b ) where the said number of completed years amounts to or exceeds ten, the addition of such number of years, not exceeding twelve, as the Minister for Finance shall direct.

(4) For the purposes of this section, service in the police force which existed in Saorstát Eireann under the name of "The Civic Guard" before the passing of the Gárda Síochána (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1923 (No. 37 of 1923), and service in the police force maintained in Saorstát Eireann under the name of "The Gárda Síochána" before the commencement of the Police Forces Amalgamation Act, 1925 (No. 7 of 1925), and service in the Dublin Metropolitan Police before the commencement of the last-mentioned Act shall be reckoned as service in the Gárda Síochána.

2.—(1) Every pension granted under this Act shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) The Executive Council may at any time by order revoke or suspend for such time as they think proper for reasons stated in such order any pension granted under this Act, but no such pension shall be so revoked or suspended unless and until the reasons for such proposed revocation have been communicated in writing to the person in receipt of the pension and such person has been given a reasonable opportunity of making to the Executive Council such explanation, answer or other case as he may think proper in relation to such proposed revocation or the reasons therefor, and every order made by the Executive Council under this section shall be published in the Iris Oifigiúil as soon as may be after it is made.

(3) The provisions in relation to the following matters contained in the orders for the time being in force regulating the grant and payment of pensions to members of the Gárda Síochána, that is to say:—

( a ) restrictions on assignment of such pensions, and

( b ) forfeiture of such pensions, and

( c ) suspension of such pensions, and

( d ) mode of payment of such pensions, and

( e ) penalties for fraud in relation to the grant of such pensions,

shall apply to every pension granted under this Act in like manner as they apply to pensions granted under the said orders.

3.—This Act may be cited as the Gárda Síochána (Pensions) Act, 1933.