Vol. 402 No. 2
19 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Defence if he will take steps to provide pensions for widows of Defence Force personnel who have no pensions because their husbands did not join a voluntary insurance scheme at the relevant time.
40 Mr. Nealon asked the Minister for Defence if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of widows of long serving members of the Defence Forces, some with over 40 years' service, have now no army pension as their husbands opted out of the optional insurance scheme of the time; and if he will now, as a special measure on compassionate grounds, make provisions for pensions for these widows.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 40 together.
Pension benefits for the widow of a deceased soldier are dependent upon the deceased being a member of the contributory scheme for widows and children of non-commissioned officers and privates and having paid the appropriate contributions as required by the scheme.
While I sympathise with the position of windows whose husbands did not choose to become members of the scheme, the position is that the scheme is based on the insurance principle and it would be contrary to this principle to provide retrospectively. Moreover, it was made clear that if personnel chose not to join the scheme, no benefit would be payable and they would not be afforded an opportunity of joining the scheme at a later date.
I have received a number of very nice personal notes the Minister for Defence sent with the payslips of veterans of the War of Independence and their spouses this month announcing an increase of 20 per cent, which I am delighted he was able to give. However, would he not accept that these people, the widows of Army personnel, who have only the non-contributory old age pension, are equally deserving? Could he not make an ex gratia payment? Is he not aware that many of these spouses, and maybe the people themselves, did not know precisely what was involved when they were opting out? Would he not consider it a gesture, because there are not many people involved and it would not be too expensive on the Exchequer, to include these in some ex gratia payment or some ex gratia pension fund?
I can have the Deputy's suggestion examined but it was made very clear at the time what the position would be if the option was not exercised. It was made quite clear that if personnel did not join the scheme they could get no benefit. It is very hard to get out of that but I will have it examined.
These people gave their services to the Army at that time and, as the Minister and I know, they were not very well rewarded financially for it.
I understand the humanitarian motivation in the Deputy's question. I will have it examined.
