asked the Minister for Finance if any progress has been made in regard to the legislation promised in his statement in the Dáil on February 20th for the purpose of carrying out the agreement reached with the British Government regarding the compensation claims of civil servants under Article 10 of the Treaty; whether in fact a Bill has been, or is being, drafted and is intended to be passed within the time specified by the Minister; whether the proposed committee to deal with the claims for retirement awaiting disposal has been constituted; and if and when the Government proposes to release those officials whose cases have been disposed of, and who are waiting over two years the retirement on pension granted to them by the Civil Service Committee first set up under the Treaty Article referred to.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Article X. of the Treaty.
The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Bill in question has been drafted, but, as I have already indicated to the House, its introduction is dependent on the formal signature by representatives of the British Government and of the Saorstát Government of the agreement arrived at. Now that the general election in Great Britain is over, I have every reason to believe that the agreement will be signed at an early date. It is not the intention to constitute the new tribunal until the proposals for legislation have been passed into law. I am not aware that there are any cases of the kind referred to in the concluding part of the question.