I move:—
Go ndeontar suim ná raghaidh thar £468,928 chun slánuithe na suime is gá chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1939, chun Pinsean Créachta agus Mí-ábaltachta, Pinsean Breise agus Pinsean Fear Pósta, Liúntaisí agus Aiscí (Uimh. 26 de 1923, Uimh. 12 de 1927, Uimh. 24 de 1932, agus Uimh. 15 de 1937); chun Pinsean, Liúntaisi agus Aiscí Seirbhíse Míleata (Uimh. 48 de 1924, Uimh. 26 de 1932 agus Uimh. 43 de 1934); chun Pinsean, Liúntaisí agus Aiscí (Uimh. 37 de 1936); agus chun síntiúisí agus costaisí iolardha ina dtaobh san, etc.
That a sum not exceeding £468,928 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1939, for Wound and Disability Pensions, Further Pensions and Married Pensions, Allowances and Gratuities (No. 26 of 1923, No. 12 of 1927, No. 24 of 1932, and No. 15 of 1937), Military Service Pensions, Allowances and Gratuities (No. 48 of 1924, No. 26 of 1932 and No. 43 of 1934), Pensions, Allowances and Gratuities (No. 37 of 1936), and for sundry contributions and expenses in respect thereof, etc.
The total amount which we want under this Estimate can be divided as follows: (1) Cost of administration, £17,701; (2) Incidental expenses, £4,682; (3) Cost of awards, £681,345; giving a total of over £703,000. The cost of awards is made up as follows: (1) Wound and Disease Pensions and Gratuities, £101,410; (2) Allowances and Gratuities to Dependants, £30,000; (3) Military Service Pensions, £545,000; (4) Retired pay and Gratuities £3,672; (5) Connaught Rangers Pensions, £1,263; making a total of £681,000 odd. All told, we are administering ten Acts of Parliament, eight of which confer statutory rights to pensions— including allowances—or gratuities on those persons who qualify under them. Running through the whole of these Acts there is a broad distinction between awards in respect of Service and awards in respect of Disability— that is, wound or disease—and the total figure of £681,345 in respect of awards may be said to represent £131,410 for Disability awards and £549,935 for Service awards.
These figures, however, need interpretation. In the first place, it is necessary to distinguish between awards already made and those which may be made during the year; and, secondly, as many of the new awards are payable from various dates in 1932, 1934, and 1937, it is necessary to distinguish between the recurring amount of those awards and the arrears which they carry for first payment. Looked at from this two-fold aspect, the statutory liabilities included in the Estimate which have already matured in respect of disability awards are:—
£ |
|
1923 Act—295 awards |
31,442 |
1927 Act—215 awards |
14,652 |
1932 Act—555 awards |
44,694 |
1937 Act—30 awards |
3,415 |
All told, under these disability awards there are 1,395 awards, and the total amount is £94,203 annually. In addition to this, we are providing £37,000 for new awards, including arrears. The estimate on which that sum is based is: new awards (recurring), £14,958; arrears (non-recurring), £15,419; gratuities (non-recurring), £6,830—making a total of some £37,000. Hence, of the total sum of £141,410 provided for disability awards, the recurring annual charge will be approximately £109,161, made up of: liabilities already matured, £94,203; liabilities in respect of new awards, £14,958—making a total of £109,161.
Turning to the Service aspect of the Estimate and applying the same distinctions, we find that of the total net sum, £549,935, required, no less than £293,921 is required for liabilities already incurred under the Acts. That sum is made up as follows:—
£ |
|
1924 Act—3,207 awards |
136,344 |
1934 Act—4,881 awards |
155,706 |
Retired Pay—12 awards |
752 |
Connaught Rangers Act—37 awards |
1,119 |
There is a total there of £8,137 awards, and a total annual cost of £293,921. This leaves a balance of £256,014 to cover new awards, including arrears, and that figure is arrived at in the following manner:—
£ |
|
New awards (recurring) |
57,615 |
Arrears (non-recurring) |
196,113 |
Gratuities |
2,286 |
Hence, under the Service Acts, the charge annually recurring is estimated to be: liabilities already matured, £293,921; new awards, £57,615— making a total recurring charge of £351,536; and the total recurring liabilities are estimated to be: for disability pensions, £109,161, and for Service pensions, £351,536—the total giving £460,697; leaving a non-recurring sum provided in this Estimate of £220,648.
From time to time, criticism has been directed towards showing that the administration of the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934, is unduly slow, and it may not therefore be inopportune to deal with the criticism at this juncture by comparing the administration of the Act with that of the 1924 Act of which it is in a real sense the complement. Now under the 1924 Act there were 21,121 applications, of which only 13,537 were referred to the board of assessors because the remaining 7,584 were clearly persons to whom the Act did not apply. The board was set up on 4th October, 1924, and having completed its work resigned on 1st October, 1928. It was, therefore, administering the Act for a period of four years, and during that time it issued 3,850 qualifying reports.
The difficulties confronting the referee and Advisory Committee set up under the 1934 Act are far more serious than those which faced their predecessors. For one thing, the 1924 board had documentary evidence on which to rely for post-Truce service and rank, and as regards pre-Truce activities the events and the applicants were fresher in the minds of the certifying officers. No such documentary evidence exists for applicants under the 1934 Act. Records had to be compiled of the various ranks held in the organisations at critical dates, the memories of the certifying officers have naturally been dulled with the passage of time, and the applicants have been for many years out of contact with these officers. Now, under the 1934 Act it has been found necessary to refer all applications, totalling 57,752, to the referee who, with the committee, was appointed and began the work of administering the Act on 5th October, 1934. The committee has, therefore, been only three and a half years in existence and, despite the serious difficulties just referred to, the referee has issued 5,581 qualifying reports.