No. 5/1970:

ELECTRICITY (SUPPLY) (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1970

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Definition.

2 Increase of total expenditure for general purposes.

3 Amendment of section 7 of Act of 1942.

4 Supplementary allowances for certain manual workers.

5 Extension of application of Act of 1942.

6 Short title and collective citation.

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE ELECTRICITY (SUPPLY) ACTS, 1927 TO 1968.

[26th May, 1970.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1.—In this Act "the Act of 1942" means the Electricity Supply Board (Superannuation) Act, 1942 .

2.—The total expenditure of the Board for general purposes, that is to say for capital purposes other than the electrification of rural areas, shall not exceed two hundred and ninety million pounds and, accordingly, section 2 (1) of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act, 1954 , shall be construed as if that sum were substituted for the sum mentioned therein.

3.—Section 7 of the Act of 1942 is hereby amended by the addition to the section of the following subsection:

"(8) ( a ) In this subsection 'previous service', in relation to a person, means continuous service by the person in the employment of the Board up to the end of the last complete month of such service before the date of admission to the manual workers superannuation scheme.

( b ) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section, a scheme (in this subsection referred to as an amending scheme) amending the manual workers superannuation scheme may, with respect to any superannuation benefit, provide that if a person who was not in the service of the Board on the 1st day of April, 1943, becomes a contributing member, for the purposes of that benefit, before three months after the day on which the amending scheme is confirmed by the Minister, the Board shall make payments in respect of the previous service of the person to the fund set up for the purposes of the manual workers superannuation scheme, and the person shall be entitled to reckon one half, but no more, of his previous service for that superannuation benefit."

4.—The Board may, if they so think fit, grant and pay to a person—

( a ) to whom subsection (8) (inserted by this Act) of section 7 of the Act of 1942 applies,

( b ) who pays to the Board a contribution equal to 1% of the remuneration paid to him by the Board during the three years immediately before his retirement from the employment of the Board, and

( c ) who is in receipt of a pension under the manual workers superannuation scheme (within the meaning of the Act of 1942),

a supplementary allowance for his life the annual amount of which together with the annual amount of the pension aforesaid is equal to—

(i) one half of the annual rate of the remuneration paid to the person by the Board immediately before his retirement from the employment of the Board, or

(ii) the annual amount of the pension which would have been payable to the person aforesaid if the whole of his continuous service in the employment of the Board had been reckoned therefor,

whichever is the less.

5.—(1) The Board may, if they so think fit, grant and pay a supplementary allowance under section 14 of the Act of 1942 to a person—

( a ) to whom paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of that section apply,

( b ) who is either in the employment of the Board at the passing of this Act or was, on or after the 22nd day of July, 1967, in receipt of a pension under a scheme prepared and confirmed under that Act, and

( c ) who pays to the Board contributions of an amount equal to one per cent. of the total remuneration paid to him by the Board during the three years immediately before his retirement from the employment of the Board,

subject to the limitation that the aggregate of the annual amount of the pension under a scheme aforesaid to which he is or becomes entitled and of the allowance shall not exceed—

(i) one half of the annual rate of the remuneration paid to the person by the Board immediately before his retirement from the employment of the Board, or

(ii) the annual amount of the pension which would have been payable to the person under a scheme aforesaid if the whole of his continuous service in the employment of the Board had been reckoned therefor,

whichever is the less.

(2) A person to whom, by virtue of this section, the Board may pay a supplementary allowance under section 14 of the Act of 1942 and who is paying or has paid contributions under a scheme prepared and confirmed under that Act in respect of any prior service (which expression has in this section the meaning it has in section 7 of the Act of 1942) may elect to receive a supplementary allowance under that section in lieu of the pension that would be payable to him under the scheme in respect of his prior service and, if he so elects, there shall be repaid to him out of the fund set up for the purposes of the scheme such sum referable to the contributions aforesaid and interest thereon as, in the opinion of the actuarial adviser to the trustees of the scheme, is appropriate having regard to all the circumstances.

(3) If, before the date of the passing of this Act, a person to whom, by virtue of this section, the Board may pay a supplementary allowance under section 14 of the Act of 1942—

( a ) has retired from the employment of the Board, having attained the age at which he is permitted by the Board to retire for reasons other than infirmity of mind or body, and

( b ) has indicated to the Board his intention to surrender under section 15 of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act, 1958 , the whole or part of the allowance payable to him under the said section 14,

the surrender shall have and be deemed to have had effect as on and from the date of such retirement.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in any scheme prepared and confirmed under the Act of 1942, if, before the date of the passing of this Act, a person to whom, by virtue of this section, the Board may pay a supplementary allowance under section 14 of the Act of 1942—

( a ) has retired from the employment of the Board, having attained the age at which he is permitted by the Board to retire for reasons other than infirmity of mind or body, and

( b ) has, since such retirement, with the consent of the committee of any such scheme, elected, or cancelled or amended an election, to surrender part of his pension under any such scheme in return for the grant of a pension to his wife or a dependent,

the election, cancellation or amendment shall have and be deemed to have had effect as on and from the date of such retirement.

(5) A supplementary allowance under section 14 of the Act of 1942 payable to a person by virtue of this section shall commence to be payable on—

( a ) the 22nd day of July, 1967, or

( b ) the date of retirement from the employment of the Board of the person,

whichever is the later.

6.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act, 1970 .

(2) The Electricity (Supply) Acts, 1927 to 1968, and this Act may be cited together as the Electricity (Supply) Acts, 1927 to 1970.