County braced for brain drain in rush for retirement cash

Date Published: 14-Sep-2011

One of the biggest ever ‘brain drains’ to occur across County Galway will take place within the next couple of months when dozens of teachers, Gardaí and other public servants are expected to opt for early retirement as they fear that their pension entitlements are to be slashed in the budget.

It is known that at least 40 Gardaí across the city and county are in a position to take early retirement while almost as many teachers are in the same situation.

The reason for the rush to the door is that any public service worker who retires before the end of next February does so on full pension. However, for those retiring after the February cut-off point, recent public sector pay cuts will be reflected in their pensions.

And the exodus will rob schools and the Gardaí of its most experienced members of the profession as Government TDs have urged caution saying that those contemplating early retirement would want to have their future well plotted out before taking such a drastic step.

There are fears that if there is a mass exodus of teachers, it will have a negative impact on schools in terms of the experience they provide and the voluntary work they do – in particular in relation to sport.

It is also understood that there are many public servants in the County Council and City Council who are considering ‘bailing out’ amid fears of their pension entitlements being dramatically reduce

It has also been claimed that if a significant number of Gardaí retire early, it will leave rural communities vulnerable to attack as there is no recruitment taking place amongst the ranks at the moment.

But Fine Gael TD Paul Connaughton jnr. said that he was aware of a lot of people taking early retirement including Gardai, teachers, nurses and other health workers adding that the exodus of these vastly experienced and highly qualified personnel was likely to cause problems in the delivery of services.

Over the past four years a total of 150 primary school teachers have retired in County Galway and many who retired over the past year could have stayed in employment for much longer.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.