asked the Minister for Defence if he will cause inquiries to be made into the reduction of the allowance of £83 a year granted, in November, 1944, to Owen Meade, case number D.P. 11170; if he is aware that Owen Meade served from 1915, is now broken in health, has been certified, by his medical advisers, as suffering from neuraesthenia, and is unfit for work; if he is aware that Mr. Meade's allowance has been fixed at £5 10s. a year from 1st November, 1947, to 31st October, 1948; and if he will state the reasons for the reduction.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Reduction of Allowance.
I would refer the Deputy to a similar question which he asked in the House on the 28th November, 1945, in reply to which statistical data was circulated with the Official Report. That data contained information relative to the various rates of special allowance granted to Mr. Meade up to the 31st October, 1946. Since that date the special allowance has been varied from the maximum rate of £91 10s. 0d. per annum (taking into consideration Mr. Meade's military service pension of £37 1s. 8d. per annum) to £5 10s. 0d. per annum, which is the appropriate rate at present. These variations have been made in relation to the changing means of the applicant in accordance with Section 7 of the Army Pensions Act, 1943.
The Minister refers me to a reply he gave me in 1945. This old I.R.A. man, Owen Meade, got a pension of £83 per year. He is now a total wreck and he has the glorious sum of £5 10s. 0d. per year from a grateful Government. Will the Minister reconsider this case? Will he see this man Owen Meade, whom he knows personally, and will he judge from his appearance whether he can work? Will he find out whether this man can continue to exist? To my mind, he can only starve on an allowance of £5 10s. 0d. per year.
The Deputy must surely understand that the special allowance to which he referred was designed to prevent any old I.R.A. man from having to enter a county home, if he has neither friends nor means and if he comes within the terms of the Act. If, by any chance, there are certain means coming into the house—and there are means coming into this house from the children, who are wage earners—a different position is established. I mentioned in my reply that the changing means have meant a change in the amount he receives. At present it would appear that quite a number of the members of this man's family, who are residing with him, assist him. Surely the Deputy does not suggest that the children of this man are not entitled to contribute something towards his upkeep and that the State should be asked to do all that? This is a special allowance, not a reward. Owen Meade got a military service pension award for his service as an I.R.A. man and this is supplementary to that.
The Minister is aware that one son aged 25 years got £2 a week—not sufficient to keep himself. Another son, aged 17 years, got 25/- a week—not sufficient to keep himself. He is badly clothed, ill-fed and his health has broken down because of the service which he has given the Government and I want the Government to see that he does not suffer as a result of it.