THE decision to scrap ministerial pensions for serving Oireachtas members is still being examined by the government and there could yet be some form of reprieve for former taoi­seach Bertie Ahern, who was left more than €150,000-a-year worse off by last Tuesday's mini-budget.

The Sunday Tribune has learned the decision to scrap ministerial pensions for serving Oireachtas members was not in the original mini-budget statement.

It had been agreed by ministers that, for the remainder of the current Dáil, the pension entitlement for still-serving former taoisigh would be halved while it would be cut by 75% for ex-ministers in the Oireachtas.

This would have left Ahern with a pension of more than €75,000 for the remainder of his time in the Dáil, reverting to a full pension after the next general election, which he will not contest.

However, it is understood the attorney general Paul Gallagher raised potential legal "issues" about this decision.

At the last minute, the text of finance minister Brian Lenihan's speech was changed to read: "The arrangement whereby former ministers are paid ministerial pensions while they are still members of the Oireachtas will be discontinued."

But the issue is still being looked at by the Department of Finance and the attorney general and could yet be amended to allow a restricted pension for former cabinet members still serving in the Oireachtas, particularly former taoisigh.

The legal issues are believed to centre around whether the government can impose changes to conditions of employment in the middle of a Dáil term. There would be no legal difficulty with applying the restrictions from the beginning of the next Dáil, as TDs would be aware of this fact when contesting the general election.

The huge drop in Ahern's earnings was front-page news on Wednesday. But there is a view the pensions of former taoisigh should be treated differently.

This is not just because of the importance of their office but also because they generally retire from active politics at the general election following their departure from the office of taoiseach.

While there are current TDs and senators getting paid ministerial pensions for positions they held well over a decade ago, this is unlikely to happen with a former taoi­seach. There is no possibility of Ahern retaining his full taoiseach's pension while he remains in the Dáil, but some form of compromise arrangement could yet be ratified that would see him earning half his entitlement.