asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he is aware that Mr. John P. Logan, formerly a stationmaster at Hill of Down Station, County Meath, was, when compulsorily retired, refused any benefits under the superannuation scheme scheduled in the Great Southern Railways Company (Superannuation Scheme) Act, 1947, although at the request of Córas Iompair Éireann he signed a consent to the payment of contributions under this scheme before it came into operation; and, if so, whether he will take steps to have this and similar cases remedied.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Córas Iompair Éireann Officials' Superannuation.
While I have no functions in connection with superannuation awards in individual cases, I have made inquiries from Córas Iompair Éireann and I am informed that when Mr. Logan retired he was granted a pension of £153 18s. 4d. per annum, of which £124 16s. 5d. was payable under the railway clearing system superannuation fund scheme, the balance being a supplement added by the company. Following his retirement Mr. Logan made an unsuccessful claim for compensation under Section 43 of the Transport Act, 1944, which deals with loss of office resulting from the amalgamation of the Great Southern Railways and the Dublin United Tramways Company. Mr. Logan subsequently claimed the alternative benefits provided for in the Great Southern Railways (Superannuation Scheme) Act, 1947, in lieu of the pension he was receiving but as he did not make this application within the time limit provided in the Act, the committee administering the superannuaion fund were precluded from acceding to his request.
Is the Minister aware that Mr. Logan and other employees of the former Great Southern Railways Company, at the request of the company, signed a consent to the new superannuation scheme before it came into operation? Subsequently, by reason of their failure to send in statutory notice within a period of three months, they were held not to be entitled to the benefits of the scheme. Would the Minister say if he would consider introducing amending legislation to cure that obvious injustice?
Obviously it was open to Mr. Logan to make a claim within the statutory limit under the Act, and that he did not do so and the committee in charge of the superannuation fund were precluded from admitting the claim. I am not prepared at the moment to introduce legislation to deal with it.