I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. As Deputies will be aware, the statutory authority for the grant of retired pay, pensions and gratuities in respect of service in the permanent Defence Force is contained in the Defence Forces (Pensions) Act, 1932, as amended by the Defence Forces (Pensions) Amendment Act, 1938, and by the Defence Forces (Pensions) Amendment Act, 1949. The object of this Bill is to amend Section 5 of the Act of 1938, so as to secure greater administrative economy and expedition in the making of grants under the pensions schemes made pursuant to these Acts.
I should perhaps explain that Section 2 of the 1932 Act provides for the making of schemes which prescribe such matters as rates of pensions and gratuities and the detailed conditions governing their payment. These schemes must receive the consent of the Minister for Finance and must be approved by a resolution of each House of the Oireachtas before they can come into operation.
Section 5 of the 1938 Act requires, furthermore, that the consent of the Minister for finance must be obtained by me before an individual grant of pension or gratuity is made. To comply with this provision, therefore, my Department must submit each case to the Department of Finance for the consent of the Minister for Finance. This obviously involves time and administrative procedure in both Departments which would not be necessary if I, as Minister for Defence, had the authority to make grants in accordance with the schemes without reference to the Minister for Finance.
The Minister for Finance and I are satisfied, having regard to the position under Section 2 of the 1932 Act, which is not affected by this Bill, that the requirement to secure his consent to each individual grant fulfils no essential purpose and that its removal would in no way adversely affect the interests of the Exchequer but would secure greater administrative economy and more expeditious clearance of cases as they arise.
I propose, therefore, to remove such requirement and to do this it is necessary to amend section 5 of the 1938 Act by deleting therefrom the words "subject to the previous consent of the Minister for Finance". This the Bill proposes to do and I trust it will meet with the full approval of the House.
