Senators will recollect that the Taoiseach undertook, in relation to the emergency powers legislation, that Orders or instruments made thereunder would, as far as practicable, be provided for in special legislation if the continuance of the powers conferred under these Orders or instruments was found to be necessary. On the basis of that undertaking I propose to provide in this Bill for the continuance of the following compensation schemes which were found to be necessary during the emergency:—
(a) The scheme providing for payments of compensation to civilians who were injured by bombs, etc.,
(b) The L.D.F. compensation scheme,
(c) The L.S.F. compensation scheme, and
(d) The compensation scheme for seamen.
The A.R.P. compensation scheme is being dealt with in a separate measure amending the Air Raid Precautions Act, 1939.
In the cases of civilians and seamen the provisions of the Bill will apply to claims in respect of injuries received prior to the 2nd September, 1946. It is unlikely that any injury arising out of the circumstances in respect of which those schemes were necessary will arise after that date. The final date so far as the L.D.F. are concerned is 31st March, 1946, the date on which the force was disbanded, and in the case of the L.S.F. the governing date is the 30th September, 1945.
The schemes, as Senators are aware, provide power to pay compensation in respect of injuries and to vary such payments according to the percentage degree of disability found by the Army Pensions Board to exist from time to time. It is necessary that these powers should be retained after the expiry of the Emergency Powers Acts from which the powers originally derived, and this Bill is designed to meet that end. The Bill also continues the power taken by the Emergency Powers (No. 269) Order, 1943, to exempt payments of compensation from the suspensory or abatement provisions applied by the Military Service Pensions Acts, 1924-1945. That Order did not apply to seamen's compensation and while so far as my information goes we have not had a case of an injured seaman who was a recipient of a Military Service Pension I have thought it well to place the scheme on all fours with the others in regard to the application of the Military Service Pensions Acts.
The total number of awards made under the civilians' scheme as on the 31st May last was 173, and the amounts disbursed to that date came to £17,240. Fifty-two claimants are still in receipt of weekly compensation. Two hundred and thirty awards were made under the L.D.F. scheme, 32 of which are still continuing. The total amount disbursed to date was £7,349. In the case of the L.S.F. the number of awards was 46 and the number of cases in which payments are still being made is 13. Total payments to date amount to £2,900. Two hundred and nineteen awards were made to or in respect of seamen who were injured or were killed by belligerent action, and of these 157 persons are still in receipt of compensation. Payments in respect of loss of seamen's effects were made in 378 cases. The total payment to date under the seamen's scheme amounted to £65,300.
The sum total of compensation, etc., paid to date under the four schemes amounted to £92,789. The amount of the awards now current may be put at £17,860.
