asked the Minister for Finance if he will state whether any pension or compensation has been awarded to ex-R.I.C. men who resigned or were dismissed, and who were shown to have given at the time of their dismissal or resignation less than four years' service, and, if so, whether he can state the number of such awards and the reasons for giving such awards, seeing that four years' service was deemed generally essential to entitle a man to compensation or pension.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - AWARDS TO SHORT-TERM R.I.C.
Pensions have been awarded under Section 5 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923, in four cases in which the service in the R.I.C. was less than four years. In three of these cases the resignation took place during the conscription crisis of May-June, 1918, and was proved to have been intimately connected with the anti-conscription movement; in the fourth case the man resigned in May, 1920, in the early stages of the active campaign against the British, and gave immediate proof of his national sympathies by services rendered to the Volunteers.
Can the Minister say that it is generally the case that no pension or compensation is paid unless there is four years' service?
That is so. There have only been these four cases.