The 3,000 full-time and part-time members of the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) in the North will receive overall redundancy payments of up to £151,000 (€220,000) each when the force is disbanded next year.
British Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram yesterday said the members would receive special lump-sum tax-free payments as part of the £250 million scheme when the force is stood down by May next year.
The DUP, in a list of demands presented to British prime minister Tony Blair last year, made clear that generous payments were required to create any chance of the party ever entering into a power-sharing arrangement with Sinn Féin.
The DUP and Ulster Unionists welcomed the pay-offs and praised the record of the RIR. Sinn Féin and the SDLP welcomed the disbandment but said the money could have been better used in education, health and other areas.
Mr Ingram said the 2,000 full-time soldiers would receive a special tax-free sum of £28,000, a redundancy payment and a pension. The 1,000 part-time soldiers would receive a special payment of £14,000, although they are not entitled to redundancy. The minister is also offering a £10,000 taxable bounty to those who eschew the offer and transfer into the general British armed forces.
"The unique and exceptional payment of the tax-free ex-gratia award is specifically designed to acknowledge the impact that disbandment will have on soldiers currently serving with the Royal Irish Regiment (home service) battalions. This is a very generous package and reflects the regard in which the home service is held," Mr Ingram added.
Under the scheme an RIR major with 22 years service would receive about £151,000 before pension payments. A sergeant with 18 years' service would be paid about £91,000 and pension. A full-time lance corporal with 16 years' service would be paid about £77,314 and pension. A full-time private with five years' service would be entitled to around £42,000.
Full-time soldiers with less than 12 years' service will have their pension preserved until they are 60. Full-time soldiers will also receive a resettlement and retraining service to equip them for civilian life. Part-time soldiers will also be offered help in finding work and resettling.
The regiment's band will be disbanded by March 2008 and replaced by the Northern Ireland Territorial Army Band which will be renamed the Royal Irish Regiment Band (TA). Regular army musicians in the current RIR band will be posted to other bands.
Mr Blair's official spokesman said the prime minister paid tribute to the "courage and dedication and commitment shown by members of the home battalions. They have faced pressures which are unique and this settlement package reflects that."
