STATE pensions for former presidents and Government ministers, members of the judiciary, and comptroller and auditors general cost nearly £3 million last year. According to the Finance Accounts 1995 report, published by the Department of Finance yesterday, the exact figure was £2,906,443.
A former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, gets a pension of £41,230 per annum. Next in the top pension category comes his predecessor as Taoiseach, Mr Charles J Haughey, with £37,105, while Dr Garret FitzGerald picks up £34,013. Going back further, Mr Jack Lynch has £27,829 and Mr Liam Cosgrave £27,829.
A former president, Dr Patrick J Hillery, who served for two terms, gets £52,098, while Mrs Rita Childers, widow of President Erskine Childers, who died in office, gets £26,049. Dr Hillery also gets a ministerial pension of £14,011, bringing his Irish State pensions to £66,109. He would also have a pension from the European Commission for his earlier service as a European Commissioner.
Two senior Progressive Democrats, Mr Des O'Malley and Mr Bobbie Molloy, have £19,105 each. They were ministers in Fianna Fail and Fianna Fail/PD governments.
Mr Gerard Collins, who has the dual mandate of TD and MEP, has a pension of £19,105. He will not be standing for the Dail in the next election. He, like Mr O'Malley and Mr Molloy, has long service as a minister.
The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, has £27,204, and his party colleagues Mr David Andrews £27,066, Mr Ray Burke £10,614, Mrs Maire Geoghegan Quinn £10,402.
Mr Ray MacSharry, a former Minister for Finance, gets £14,011. He would also have a pension from the European Commission for his service as an agricultural commissioner. Mr Richard Burke is a similar case. He gets a State pension of £10,614, but would also have a pension from Europe.
Under the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Acts, there are two pension schemes in operation. The original scheme was in operation up to January 1993 and permits TDs and senators (who have accrued sufficient service to qualify for a ministerial pension) to receive their pension immediately. The level of pension they can receive varies from 45 per cent for a minister, and 28 per cent to 51 per cent for a minister of state, depending on the number of years service they have in this capacity. Ten years service is required to qualify for maximum pension.
Under the new arrangements, ex-ministers who are serving members of the Oireachtas are not permitted to receive their ministerial entitlements until aged 55.
At that stage they are entitled to 50 per cent of their ministerial pension, and can only receive the balance whenever their Houses of the Oireachtas service is finished.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, Mr Dick Spring and Mr Ruairi Quinn would be examples of TDs who decided that remaining in the old scheme was more to their long-term advantage.