Paul McGrath
Question:151 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Defence if he will outline (1) the pensions, if any, that were payable to army widows prior to 1978 and (2) the criteria under which these pensions were awarded.
Vol. 415 No. 8
151 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Defence if he will outline (1) the pensions, if any, that were payable to army widows prior to 1978 and (2) the criteria under which these pensions were awarded.
Prior to 1978, there was no provision for the payment of pensions by my Department to the widows of deceased soldiers. Such provision was made in 1978 when a contributory pension scheme for widows and children was introduced with effect from 1 June 1977. At the same time, a special ex-gratia scheme was introduced to cover the widows of soldiers who had either died in service or retired on pension prior to the introduction of the contributory scheme and were thereby prevented from joining the contributory scheme.