Vol. 42 No. 9
I formally move:—
That the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1953, prepared by the Minister for Defence, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, under the terms of the Defence Forces (Pensions) Acts, 1932 to 1949, and laid before Seanad Éireann on 28th July, 1953, be confirmed.
With regard to Section 4 of this scheme perhaps the Minister would explain why the date 1949 is inserted? A person who retired from the Defence Forces after 1949 gets an increase but a person who retired before that date does not. A great many people were, in the circumstances, almost forced out of the Army about 1946 and a number of people who served in 1922 and later retired, in the ordinary course, about that time. If they survived until 1949 they got an increase but if they retired before 1949 they did not. I should like to hear the basis for that action.
I have, on a number of occasions, explained the position with regard to members of the Defence Forces who retired or were discharged before 1st September, 1946, and the 1st September, 1949. A pay increase came into operation on the 1st September, 1946, and officers and soldiers who had the benefit of that increase before leaving the Army received increased rates of retired pay and pension—a flat 30 per cent. increase in the case of officers and varying increases in the case of non-commissioned officers and men. These increases were granted by the pensions scheme of 1947, and they followed from the principle that if a person's pay is increased, there should also be an increase in his pension. As from the 1st April, 1949, the same increases were granted to personnel who had left the Army before the September, 1946, increase in pay was granted. These former officers and men had no entitlement to the pension increases by reference to an increase in their pay. Their pensions were increased on the same basis as were those of other classes of former State servants by the Pensions (Increase) Act, 1950—that is, the Government decided to increase the pensions of those who had left the State service before October, 1946, up to what they would have been eligible for if they were still serving in October, 1946. The decision was based on considerations such as the increased cost of living.
I cannot now take the officers and soldiers who were retired or discharged before September, 1949, and give them the increases proposed in the present scheme which, as I have said, are related to pay increases. It may be that, at some time, the Government will decide to give further increases to former State servants generally whose pensions are pinned by the increase Act of 1950. If that is done, former members of the Defence Forces whose pensions are similarly pinned will be eligible for the same consideration. The former members of the Defence Forces, cannot however, be dealt with separately; their position can only be considered in conjunction with that of similarly circumstanced State pensioners generally.
In other words, pension is normally based on the pay an individual is receiving when he is retiring. In between the various years that have been referred to, quite a large number of members of the Defence Forces went out on pension. Those who went out with a certain rate of pay had their pensions based on that pay. Those who remained longer, and who received an increase in pay, went out on pension based on that increase. That must be the position until it is decided to take all the earlier cases and bring them all on to a new level. It would not be possible to deal with one section alone, such as the Army, because it is obvious what would happen if that were done. If one section were catered for, the others would regard themselves as being victimised. Until such time as some action of that kind is taken, pensions will have to be related to the salary which the person is receiving when he retires.
I should like to express my sincere thanks to the Seanad for the expeditious manner in which they have dealt with these matters this afternoon.
