asked the Minister for Defence if he will state why suspensions have been made from payments to pensioners under sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934, as amended by the Military Service Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1945, after 1st January, 1953, in view of the fact that the sub-section referred to was repealed by Section 7 of the Military Service Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1953, with effect as on and from 1st January, 1953; further, if he will now have the amounts suspended paid in full to the pensioners concerned.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Military Service Pensions.
Any deductions made from military service pensions since the 1st January, 1953, pursuant to sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934, as amended by the Military Service Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1945, relate only to public moneys received by the pensioners in respect of the period which ended on the 31st December, 1952. The question of a refund does not, therefore, arise.
asked the Minister for Defence if he will state in respect of each of the years 1950-51 to 1953-54, inclusive, (1) the number of military service certificates issued, and (2) the number of cases (a) heard by the Referee and board and rejected after hearing of oral evidence on appeal; (b) rejected without hearing on grounds that prima facie evidence was insufficient to warrant a hearing on appeal, and (c) rejected in which no notification of the decision has yet been issued; and, further, if he will state the number of new claims made since 1949 under the Military Service Pensions Acts, 1924 and 1934, the number of certificates granted and rejected in each of the years mentioned above and the number of cases still pending.
As the reply to the question is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, a Cheann Comhairle, with your permission, to have it circulated with the Official Report.
Following is the statement:—
|
YEAR |
1950/51 |
1951/52 |
1952/53 |
1953/54 |
Total |
|
1. Number of military service certificates issued |
205 |
492 |
311 |
294 |
1.302 |
|
2. (a) Number of cases heard by the Board of Assessors and Referee and rejected after hearing of oral evidence |
138 |
613 |
773 |
1,006 |
2,530 |
|
(b) Number of cases rejected without hearing by the Board of Assessors and Referee on the grounds that there was not a prima facie case that the Acts applied |
166 |
426 |
2,027 |
8,250 |
10,869 |
|
(c) Number of cases rejected by the Board of Assessors and the Referee in which notification of the decision has not yet been issued to the applicants concerned |
— |
— |
— |
— |
6,600 |
|
(approx.) |
|||||
|
3. Number of applications received from persons who had not previously applied under the Acts of 1924 or 1934 and which have been submitted to the Board of Assessors and Referee— |
|||||
|
1924 Act |
188 |
310 |
265 |
87 |
850 |
|
1934 Act |
643 |
920 |
673 |
443 |
2,679 |
|
4. Number of military service certificates issued in respect of the new applications referred to at (3) above— |
|||||
|
1924 Act |
2 |
11 |
15 |
9 |
37 |
|
1934 Act |
8 |
23 |
23 |
35 |
89 |
|
5. Number of applications referred to at (3) above which were rejected by the Board of Assessors and Referee— |
|||||
|
1924 Act |
1 |
16 |
15 |
344 |
376 |
|
1934 Act |
7 |
47 |
104 |
1,255 |
1,413 |
|
6. Number of applications referred to at (3) above which are still under consideration by the Board of Assessors and Referee— |
|||||
|
1924 Act |
— |
— |
— |
— |
437 |
|
1934 Act |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1,177 |
In addition to the 850 new applications under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1924, and the 2,679 new applications under the 1934 Act referred to at 3, there are 660 applications which have been received since 1st February, 1954, on hands, in which further inquiries have to be made preparatory to their transmission to the Board of Assessors and Referee.
Is the Minister aware that where rejections have taken place on the grounds that a prima facie case has not been made out, that imposes very great hardship on applicants because it means that their claims are being rejected because they are unable to state their case well on paper?
The Act states very clearly that if there is no prima facie case the Referee must reject the claim. That is what the 1949 Act states.
Is the Minister aware that the prima facie case is judged by what the applicant has stated on paper? If he has not been able to state his case well on paper, it means that the application has been rejected because of his failure to make a case on paper. Is the Minister aware that if an opportunity were given the applicant to state his case orally, the applicant could, generally, state the case orally better than in writing?
I do not accept that statement. As the Deputy is fully aware, there is a Referee and a board who sit to judge cases. On that board there are two representatives of the Old I.R.A. who are there to look after the interests of applicants. I have to assume that they do their duty conscientiously and well.
Is the Minister aware that, under this Act and previous Acts, the board has not any function in deciding the case? The decision rests solely with the Referee. The Minister is not correct when he says that the board forms part of the rejecting authority.
I can only say that the Referee has given me an assurance that he consults the full board on every occasion before he makes a decision.
Am I to take it that having consulted the board that does not necessarily mean that he has to take their advice and that he may come to whatever decision he pleases afterwards?
Question No. 43.
asked the Minister for Defence if he will state (a) the number of applications and petitions submitted under the Military Service Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1949, from persons resident in County Kildare; (b) the number of applications which have been decided in favour of applicants; (c) the number of applications which have been rejected; and (d) the number of applications still awaiting consideration.
The information requested by the Deputy is as follows:—
|
(a) The number of new applications and petitions submitted pursuant to the Military Service Pensions (Amendment) Act, 1949, from persons resident in County Kildare is |
285 |
|
(b) The number of cases in which favourable reports have been made by the Board of Assessors and the Referee is |
10 |
|
(c) The number of cases which have been rejected by the Board of Assessors and the Referee is |
237 |
|
(d) The number of cases which are still under consideration by the Board of Assessors and the Referee is |
28 |
Of the 285 applications and petitions referred to at (a) above, ten applications received in March, 1954, are under departmental inquiry preparatory to their transmission to the Board of Assessors and the Referee.