I move:—
Go ndeontar suim Bhreise ná raghaidh thar £5,000 chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1940, chun Pinsean, Aois-Liúntais, Cúitimh, agus Liúntaisí agus Aiscí, breise agus eile, fé Reachtanna Iolardha (4 agus 5 Will. 4, c. 24; 22 Vict., c. 26; 50 agus 51 Vict., c. 67; 55 agus 56 Vict., c. 40; 6 Edw. 7, c. 58; 9 Edw. 7, c. 10; 4 agus 5 Geo. 5, c. 86; 9 agus 10 Geo. 5, c. 67 agus c. 68; 10 agus 11 Geo. 5, c. 36; Uimh. 1 de 1922; Uimh. 34 de 1923; Uimh. 7 de 1925; Uimh. 27 de 1926; Uimh. 11 agus Uimh. 36 de 1929; Uimh. 9 de 1934; Uimh. 39 de 1936; Uimh. 29 de 1938; etc.); agus chun Pinsean, Liúntaisí agus Aiscí nach cinn Reachtúla agus a dheon an tAire Airgeadais; Tuarastal an Dochtúra Réitigh agus corr-tháillí do Dhochtúirí, etc.
That a Supplementary sum not exceeding £5,000 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1940, for Pensions, Superannuation, Compensation, and Additional and other Allowances and Gratuities under sundry Statutes (4 and 5 Will. 4, c. 24; 22 Vict., c. 26; 50 and 51 Vict., c. 67; 55 and 56 Vict., c. 40; 6 Edw. 7, c. 58; 9 Edw. 7, c. 10; 4 and 5 Geo. 5, c. 86; 9 and 10 Geo. 5, c. 67 and c. 68; 10 and 11 Geo. 5, c. 36; No. 1 of 1922; No. 34 of 1923; No. 7 of 1925; No. 27 of 1926; No. 11 and No. 36 of 1929; No. 9 of 1934; No. 39 of 1936; No. 29 of 1938; etc.); Extra-Statutory Pensions, Allowances, and Gratuities awarded by the Minister for Finance; the Salary of the Medical Referee and occasional fees to Doctors; etc.
The sum of £5,000 provided in this Supplementary Estimate is required to meet expenditure on the following items:—(a) an extra-statutory supplementary pension and supplement to additional allowance; (b) the gratuities and additional allowances provided in sub-head B of the Vote for officers retiring or dying, and for female officers on marriage. The case in which it is proposed to make the extra-statutory award is that of a prison officer who was stationed in Northern Ireland at the change of Government. He had applied to be transferred to the service of the Southern Government, and negotiations for his transfer were actually in progress when he was suddenly dismissed by the Northern Government in June, 1922. The Government here were satisfied that he had been dismissed owing to his political sympathies and he was appointed a warder here in August, 1922, the then Minister for Finance deciding that he should be placed in the same position as if he had actually been serving in the South on the appointed day, i.e., as if he were a transferred officer with full pension rights in respect of his previous service. The Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923 did not, however, give the necessary statutory authority for reckoning the previous service, and when the Superannuation Act, 1936, was passed, the necessity of obtaining a certificate for the warder under that Act within two years of its passing was overlooked. Had the necessary certificate been obtained, there would have been statutory authority for the reckoning of the officer's service from its commencement in 1903, including the period between dismissal and reinstatement, as one continuous period of service for pension.
In 1939, the officer in question retired on the ground of age. It was then discovered that, although the officer himself relied on the undertaking given at the time of his reinstatement as entitling him to a pension on his total service since 1903, there was in fact no statutory authority to reckon for pension any service rendered prior to August, 1922, when he first took up service under this Government. The exclusion of the previous service for pension would mean a very considerable loss to him, as without it he would receive a pension of only £41 13s. 4d. a year, together with a lump sum of £101 0s. 2d., whereas if it were included his pension would be £104 3s. 6d. a year, and his lump sum £292 12s. 3d.— a difference of £62 10s. 2d. a year, plus £191 12s. 1d. lump sum. It was felt that it would be an inordinate hardship to deprive the officer of such a relatively large amount of money, and I have accordingly decided to seek the authority of the House to the grant to him of an extra-statutory supplement to pension and lump sum equivalent to the difference between the pension and lump sum which have actually been awarded to him under statute and the pension and lump sum which would have been awarded to him had the necessary certificate under the Superannuation Act, 1936, been issued in his favour. The amount of £52 provided under sub-head A is in respect of the proportion of the annual supplement of £62 10s. 2d., payable from the date of the officer's retirement—3rd June, 1939, to 31st March next. In future years the attention of the House will be drawn to this charge by a footnote in the Estimate, so long as the extra-statutory payment continues to be made.
The sum of £191 12s. 1d. being the difference between the lump sum awarded to the officer and the lump sum which would have been awarded to him had his total service been reckonable under statute, is provided under sub-head B. It has also been necessary to make further provision of £17,800 under this sub-head, as the original Estimate provision of £46,000 has proved inadequate to meet the charges arising in the present financial year.
As the charges under this sub-head depend entirely on the incidence of deaths, marriages, and retirements, and are further subject to fluctuation according as these occur among the higher or lower ranks, it is very difficult to estimate exactly for the sub-head. In the present year the expenditure for the first nine months on these items had been higher than in the same period in any previous year, a situation which could not possibly have been forecast when the Estimate was being framed.
The total supplementary provision required is £18,052, of which £13,052 can be supplied from savings on other subheads, leaving £5,000 as the net supplementary provision to meet the further sums which it is anticipated will come into charge in respect of subheads A and B up to the 31st March, 1940.
