To ask the Minister for Local Government if complaints have been received by him from various ex-officials of public bodies throughout Ireland (whose offices have been abolished, and who have not been awarded the superannuation or compensation to which they were entitled under Section 8 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1919, and Section 66 of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and what steps the Local Government Department are taking to ensure that local bodies will discharge their liabilities to such ex-officials.
WRITTEN ANSWERS. - SUPERANNUATED OFFICIALS. (PAYMENT OF ALLOWANCES.)
Complaints of the nature indicated have been received occasionally, and are investigated as they arise. It is possible that in some instances local authorities may have postponed payments due to ex-officials owing to temporary financial embarrassment caused by delays in payment of rates.
To ask the Minister for Local Government if many of the officials of the abolished Unions in the county of Donegal, and these the most needy, have not yet received one penny of their pensions or gratuities; and if his Department will urge the local body responsible for the payments to pay same.
There has been an unavoidable delay in the payment by the County Home Committee of pensions or gratuities to ex-officials of the abolished Unions in County Donegal, but it is expected that the matter will be settled almost immediately, as transfers of necessary funds are now about to be made to the Committee by the County Council.