I thank the House most sincerely for its kind reception of the Bill. Deputy Dowling spoke his first words for Fianna Fáil on Defence on this Bill and I welcome him in the task he has been given and wish him every personal success—with the accent on "personal".
The Deputy spoke about the benefit of this Bill when it becomes an Act. As I see it, the benefit will not be in increased payments to anybody —that is governed by other legislation—but in the expedition of payments and avoidance of delay. For me since I became involved for the past couple of years and for everybody else it has been very annoying to be trying to get something through for which people down the country are waiting. This involves money they can ill afford to be without but the business of this House is obstructing what is really only a mechanical measure without any controversial element. It is not much help to people who have to wait perhaps six months before they get a cheque which is retrospective because they have been without the money during that period. In most cases these are people who are not blessed with much of the world's goods and they could benefit from prompt payments.
What I would wish if it were possible—I am sure the House will agree—is to have a consolidation of all Defence Forces pensions schemes. But the pensions section of the Department of Defence is so hard pressed that the highly-technical staff required to do a good consolidation job has not been available. I hope in the future to get down to consolidation which would help the Deputies and everybody concerned from the point of view of simplification. It is difficult even when one has been in the Department for a while to remember and trace back through various Acts what the decision on a certain case was. Consolidation would help considerably and we hope to have it but we have not been able to do it up to now.
Deputy Dowling mentioned about never seeing soldiers in uniform. I agree. I notice when I go around military barracks and in going to my office every day that when young men are leaving barracks they normally put on civilian clothes. It is their option and if they are giving good service to the State we cannot say too much but personally I would like to see them in uniform, say, in a café in O'Connell Street or going about their social occasions. They seem not to do it just now and have not been doing it, as far as I know, for some years past.
Deputy Carter spoke of special allowances in a very constructive contribution. Special allowances are not affected by this legislation but, with the permission of the Chair, I shall take the opportunity to say something regarding special allowances. Deputy Carter suggested that some people in their declining years would be almost destitute and that increases should be given as people become older. The thinking behind special allowances is to help people whose incomes are very low. It is the kindly hand of the State being extended to those who gave service in years gone by. Neither the State, nor the Department nor any organ of the State wishes to be mean with or hard on these people. The question of the increase which will arise on 1st July out of the budget is not agreed in detail at present between the State Departments involved but if my memory serves me right—and I am speaking from memory—the previous budget increase worked out at about 14 per cent.
Only a very small proportion of old age pension is taken into account when arriving at the amount of special allowance to be paid if any amount is payable. Where board and lodging is taken into account, this is only done when it has been given without hardship to the giver. In a situation where a son runs a large farm or a prosperous business and his father is an applicant for a special allowance and is living with him, portion of the board and lodging would be taken into account because the son was suffering no hardship in doing what he should do—provide for his father in his declining years. But where the giver would be suffering hardship in giving the board and lodging or help of any kind to a person who is an applicant for special allowance, that help is disregarded.
I know it can be annoying to Deputies when they make representations in this regard and find that the value of certain benefits accruing to the applicant is assessed at what they consider to be a rather high figure but they should take into account that any value put on it is only put on in cases where there is no hardship.
While only a very small portion of the old age pension is taken into account in arriving at the appropriate figure on which a special allowance is payable, no account is taken of increases in social welfare payments. This has been the case for many years; it was done under a previous Government and the position has not changed. Increases in social welfare benefits do not affect special allowances.
I thank Deputy Governey for his congratulations and if I can speed things up in any way so as to serve the people in the Defence Forces I shall do so.
The question of widows of special allowance holders as compared with widows of military service pensioners as raised by Deputy Callanan deserves comment. A military service pensioner was subject to the most exacting investigation and he must have served in the three months prior to 11th July, 1921. A special allowance applicant can be eligible if he was a member. The difference is quite striking. The thinking, I would presume, on the part of various Governments over the years has been that where a widow of a special allowance holder fell to be a charge on the State on the death of her husband then it would be the duty of the State to support that lady through the normal social welfare channels. I would agree that perhaps there could be a little fall-off in income as a result of that but that is the thinking on the matter and it has been the thinking for years. The military service pensioner is in an entirely different situation. In fact, he could be a millionaire. He is not subject to a means test at all. He has a pension for his service just as if I, Deputy Dowling or anyone else had been in the Defence Forces for a certain number of years, would have it as of right and our personal incomes or personal positions at any given time would not affect our pensions.
This is really a Bill to clear up delays. It will do that. I hope that in the years to come we will effect consolidation which would be of considerable help, even in the Department of Defence, I am sure, because they do not like going through knotty problems any more than anybody else.
