asked the Minister for Finance if he can state whether the entire sum of £3,277,700 estimated for the current financial year in respect of Old Age Pensions will be called upon for that service; if any saving may be expected on that estimate what the amount of that saving is likely to be, and to what cause such saving is to be attributed.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - OLD AGE PENSIONS ESTIMATE.
It is not anticipated that the entire sum of £3,277,700, estimated to meet the cost of Old Age Pensions for the financial year 1923-24, will be required. The savings on the expenditure on Old Age Pensions, as compared with the estimate for the year 1923-24, will, it is anticipated, be slightly over £100,000. The reduced expenditure is due to a number of causes, such as the reinvestigation of old pensions with consequential reduction or disqualification, and to the fact that the number of pensioners, who have died, has been in excess of the number of new pensions accruing during the year.