I move:—
That a Supplementary sum not exceeding £29,000 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1945, 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, No. 15 of 1937, No. 2 of 1941 and No. 14 of 1943); Military Service Pensions, Allowances and Gratuities (No. 48 of 1924, No. 26 of 1932, No. 43 of 1934, No. 33 of 1938 and No. 5 of 1944); Pensions, Allowances and Gratuities (No. 37 of 1936); Payments in respect of Compensation for Members of the Local Defence Force (No. 28 of 1939); and for sundry Contributions and Expenses in respect thereof, etc.
This Supplementary Estimate for the gross sum of £29,691 is necessitated by several varying factors which may be best explained by dealing with the various sub-heads for which an increased provision is necessary. Under sub-head C, which deals with the salaries, wages and allowances of the Referee and Advisory Committee, the increase of £3,096 is due to the facts (a) that when the annual estimate was framed the Referee's salary was borne on the Central Fund, but is now borne on the Pensions Vote; (b) the original Estimate was based on the assumption that the Advisory Committee would only be employed for 30 days during the year, whereas it has been fully employed since last November and was employed part-time before that; (c) it was hoped that the Referee's staff would be needed for only four months, whereas it has been necessary to keep it in existence throughout the whole year.
Sub-head E provides for wound and disability pensions and gratuities and the increase here is due to an increase in the number of pensions mainly in respect of disease. We budgeted for 1,341 such pensions, but, at the end of January, there were 1,340 under payment and, by the end of March, we expect to have dealt with another 27. The increase is chiefly in respect of tuberculosis cases and the average allowed for is, consequently, higher because most of these applicants receive the maximum pension allowable under the Acts. Here we require £10,000.
Sub-head F provides for the widows, children and other dependents of deceased personnel. The original Estimate provided for 295 allowances, but at the end of January that number had jumped to 350 and by March we expect that six more cases will have to be dealt with. The extra cost will be £3,000.
Under sub-head I, we had not allowed sufficient margin for contingent liabilities. For instance, towards the end of the last financial year, there were about 325 persons living abroad who had received service certificates but who had not claimed pensions amounting to about £56,000. Many of these have now claimed their pensions with arrears and this is mainly the cause of the increase of £8,100.
Sub-head J deals with the pensions for the Army. We budgeted for 111 cases, but at the end of January there were 118 actually under payment, and we expect 29 more by the end of March.
Sub-head K, which provides for the expenses of applicants under the Army Pensions Acts and for witnesses under the Military Service Pensions Acts, requires an additional £1,095. This increase is consequential to the increased activities of the Referee and Advisory Committee, and to the increased number of applicants for wound and disability pensions.
Sub-head L requires an increase of £400, mainly because we have taken special steps to deal expeditiously with applicants for wound and disability pensions. Last October, we found that the Army Pensions Board could not deal quickly enough with the numerous applications under the Acts, and we decided to relieve the pressure by appointing pensions medical officers all over the country to examine locally the applicants, and to report to the board who would then assess their claims. In this way, we have in the space of three months dealt with about 140 cases.
In connection with this Supplementary Estimate for the Army Pensions Vote, I should like to draw the attention of the House to one point. On the account for 1936-37 there was a surrender of £176,843 out of a Vote for £615,926 and the accounting officer of the Vote, when appearing before the Committee of Public Accounts, was advised to "estimate as closely as possible even at the risk of having to come to the Dáil for a Supplementary Estimate rather than to be piling up large sums for surrender". It is because the Department has followed that advice in framing its Estimate for this Vote that this supplementary amount is necessary.
