asked the Minister for Finance if he has received from Patrick Healy, 55 Bella Street, Dublin, an application for payment of a pension under the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923; if this claim was submitted to and passed by the Committee of Inquiry which was appointed to investigate these claims, and if he can now authorise payment of a pension to him.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - CLAIMS UNDER THE SUPERANNUATION AND PENSIONS ACT, 1923.
An application for a pension has been received in this case, and the claim is at present under consideration. I hope to give a decision at an early date.
asked the Minister for Finance if he has received from John Hourihan, Ballina, Co. Tipperary, an application for payment of a pension under the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923; if this claim was submitted to and passed by the Committee of Inquiry which was appointed to investigate these claims, and if he can authorise payment of a pension to him.
The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I am not satisfied on the evidence placed before me that Mr. Hourihan's resignation from the R.I.C. in November, 1918, was caused by his national sympathies, and as I have already caused the Deputy to be informed, I regret that I cannot see my way to issue a certificate under Section 5 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923, which would render him eligible for a pension.
Is the Minister prepared to consider new evidence of a responsible nature to prove that his reasons for resignation were because of his national sympathies, and that his actions, subsequent to his resignation more than proved his national sympathies.
If I got important evidence I would be always willing to consider it, but I believe that in this particular case the reasons stated by the man when resigning were the true reasons. He stated, when he resigned on the 13th November, 1918, a period before things had become hot and before there was any reason why he should state falsely, that he resigned to attend to a business house and farm of land. I would require very substantial evidence before I would reconsider that case.
asked the Minister for Finance if the application made by Michael Brennan, Cloonariska, Killishin, Leix, for a pension under the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923, was passed by the Committee of Inquiry appointed to investigate such claims, if he is now in a position to authorise payment of pension, or to state reasons why he is unable to do so.
I regret I am unable to authorise the grant of a pension in this case.
Will the Minister give the reasons why he is unable to do so.
Yes. I am not satisfied that the man resigned from patriotic motives.
Is it not a fact that information has already been conveyed, that the reason for the refusal of the Minister to grant a pension in this case is because the man was dismissed from the Gárda Síochána, and is it not a fact also that, as a result of information supplied to the Minister, other members who have been dismissed from the Gárda Síochána have actually received pensions under the authority of the Minister. Will the Minister say, in view of these facts, why he has refused to grant the pension in this case, and will he also say whether this man's dismissal from the Gárda Síochána was either previous to, or subsequent to, the issue of regulations by him under the Superannuation and Pensions Act?
It is always difficult to know what a man's motive was. But sometimes you can be helped in judging the motive in a particular instance by a man's subsequent conduct. This man's subsequent conduct, when he was a member of the Civic Guard, convinces me that it was not patriotism that caused his resignation from the R.I.C., but, as you might say, irregularism in advance of the times.
I would ask the Minister to state, in view of the information at his disposal, if it is not a fact that this man was one of the very few men who refused to take part in the mutiny at the original establishment of the Civic Guard?
I do not know, but what I do know is that he was dismissed from the Civic Guard for failing to report for duty, for being drunk and assaulting his sergeant.
I think that statement should not be allowed to go unchallenged. The facts are, that this man was refused permission to attend the funeral of his sister. He went away without permission, and that was the reason for his dismissal from the Gárda Síochána.
asked the Minister for Finance if he has received an application from William Colgan, Rahan, Offaly, for payment of a pension under the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923, whether the claim was dealt with and passed by the Committee of Inquiry which was appointed to investigate such claims, if he can now authorise payment of the pension, or state the reasons why he is unable to do so.
After the most careful consideration of this case, I regret that I can come to no other conclusion than that the case is not one for the grant of a pension under Section 5 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923.
Will the Minister, in cases of this kind, make arrangements to convey to the applicants concerned replies such as he has given now. If he would agree to do that it would save all this correspondence which comes from people who make repeated applications without receiving any answer.
I thought intimation had been conveyed in this case, and if that has not been done, I will cause it to be done.
asked the Minister for Finance if he has received an application from E. Tarpey for payment of a pension under the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923; if this claim was submitted to and passed by the Committee of Inquiry which was appointed to investigate such claims, if in view of this man's pre-Truce record and activities he will now agree to issue authority for payment of a pension, or state the reason why he is unable to do so.
I regret that I am unable to authorise the grant of a pension in this case.
Will the Minister give the reason why he has been unable to authorise payment of the pension in this case. I think Deputies are entitled to the reasons which support the Minister's decision.
The reasons are much the same as the reasons I gave in regard to a previous question. I am not satisfied that this man resigned from patriotic motives. I think he was a troublesome man. His dismissal from the Civic Guard was due to insubordination, drunkenness, and a general neglect of his duty.
Is it not within the Minister's knowledge that this man was one of the three men who organised the Police Union within the R.I.C., the Union which assisted to bring the R.I.C. into opposition to the Conscription Act passed by the British Government. Is the Minister also aware of the fact that this man volunteered his services to the Free State when the trouble broke out in June, 1922, and that he offered to give his services in any capacity that the State might be willing to use them. Is he also aware of the fact that the reason given for his dismissal was that he expressed sympathy with and a hope that one of his late colleagues would not be allowed to die in an internment camp in Kildare when he was on hunger strike. I think these facts should be made known to Deputies.
I have not the file with me and it is some little time since I read it. I am not, therefore, aware whether what the Deputy alleges is correct. This man was dismissed from the Civic Guard.
Are you in a position to contradict the information that I am now giving?
I am not the least interested in the information. I am satisfied that this man was a troublesome man and a man who has no claim on us. As I said before, it was more a case of irregularism in advance of the times than anything else that was wrong with him.