asked the Minister for Defence the authority under which he is withholding from a widow of a deceased soldier and her four children (details supplied) the sum of £308 1s. 3d. which is payable to them under the Defence Forces (Pensions) Scheme; and if, having regard to the fact that the lady in question has applied for a Dublin Corporation house and has been refused one because of the Corporation's inability to give her accommodation in view of the serious housing shortage in Dublin, he will now pay the gratuity in full.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Gratuity to Widow of Deceased Soldier.
51.
Mr. Ryan
The authority for withholding payment of the gratuity to the widow referred to by the Deputy is Article 39A of the Defence Forces (Pensions) Scheme, 1937 (S.R. and O. 1937 No. 249) as inserted by Article 33 of the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1947 (S.R. and O. 1947 No. 81).
The widow in question is overholding married quarters and the gratuity payable to her is being withheld to cover the daily charges for such overholding and the cost of electricity consumed as well as any amount which may be due for loss, damage or deficiencies in the quarters or furniture.
As the Deputy is aware, a payment of £25 from the gratuity was made to the widow, last week, as an exceptional measure.
Mr. Ryan
Does the Minister realise that he must be unique in this country as being the only landlord who requires a widow with four young children to put down a deposit of £308 security for rent and possible damage to quarters? Having regard to the fact that this lady has applied to Dublin Corporation for housing accommodation and has been refused it because there are some 10,000 seeking and unable to get accommodation from the Dublin Corporation, would the Minister not, in this instance, see to it that this woman's hardship and grief are alleviated to some extent by paying over at least £250 of this money to her forthwith?
The Deputy is asking me to change a general rule of fairly long standing. I have told him that a large number of army personnel, married men, are looking for accommodation. We cannot give it to them because of this overholding. In view of the exceptional circumstances which were brought to my notice by the Deputy, and by other Deputies privately, we made a payment of £25 but it is not proposed to alter the general rule as otherwise, we should have no grip on these married quarters. There is very serious discontent amongst married army personnel because they cannot get houses. I am sure a good many of these are constituents of the Deputy.
Mr. Ryan
The solution to the problem is to build more married accommodation.
Not in this case.
Mr. Ryan
How can the Minister seriously suggest that he can help to alleviate the problem to which he has made reference by punishing an unfortunate widow and her four young children who have nowhere to go? The only way in which she can now get this money is to go out on the street and to bring her infant children with her. Surely the Minister is not justified in that kind of attitude in this instance?
The Deputy knows as well as I do that large numbers of these overholders, or the majority of them, were in fact in recent years offered houses by the Corporation, and offered them in the districts for which they had applied, but when the offer was made, they refused to take them.
Mr. Ryan
Is this case not different from that which the Minister has mentioned? This lady has applied for accommodation anywhere and has been refused. Is the Minister not aware that this unfortunate lady's husband died in August this year and that she immediately applied for accommodation and that her application is still open as far as she knows? The Minister is making it difficult for this lady.
I think I should have satisfied the Deputy that this is no hardhearted attitude in this matter but we must retain this general rule; otherwise we would have to do what the Deputy suggests, namely to keep on building houses against ever-increasing overholding, and that is a suggestion which the Department of Defence could not entertain.