Special Committee Defence Bill, 1951 díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 25 Mar 1952

SECTION 70.

Amendment No. 74 not moved.

Captain Cowan

I move amendment No. 75 :—

In sub-section (6), page 42, to delete all words after "place" in line 22 to the end of the sub-section and substitute the following : "in Ireland to which he may at the time of his transfer or discharge desire to be conveyed."

When a man is discharged from the Forces, under the Bill as drafted, he may be sent to his home address or to the place of his enlistment. I think it is only right that if, after long service, he may desire to go somewhere else in Ireland, he should get free transport there.

Mr. Traynor

It has always been the statutory position that, where a soldier is discharged or transferred to the Reserve, his expenses are paid to the extent now set out in the Bill. There seems to me to be no contractual obligation to go to the extent which the Deputy suggests, that is, to convey a man anywhere in Ireland he may desire to go, even if the cost exceeded that of taking him to where he lived when attested. I may mention that there are more than the soldier himself involved, because, as an extra statutory arrangement, we also pay the expenses of a married soldier's wife and children and pay for the conveyance of his furniture. I do not think we could be asked to go beyond bringing him either back to the place at which he resided when he enlisted or to some other place at a cost not exceeding that of bringing him to his home address.

Captain Cowan

I would press the Minister very strongly on this, because I have practical experience of hardships caused. Take the case of a soldier who serves for a period of 25 or perhaps 30 years in the Defence Forces. During that period, he has married a girl from a part of the country he himself is not from and, when discharged, has made all arrangements to take up his residence at or near the place where he was fortunate enough to find a wife. In these circumstances, I think it only fair that he should be transported there at the cost of the State. I feel that the number of cases in which the cost would be greater than the cost of transferring him to the place of his enlistment will be so small and the amount involved so negligible that it would be better to have it in the form I advocate. It would be an appreciation of the soldier's long service. The difference between the cost of sending him to his home address at the time of enlistment and bringing him to the place where he wants to reside in Ireland cannot be tremendous and I press it as being of benefit to a number of soldiers—not a great number—and as being a gesture on the part of the State which would show no narrow niggardliness or meanness. I know very well that, it being an amendment that may involve cost, he probably would have to consult the Minister for Finance, but I urge him to consider it.

Mr. Traynor

I certainly am prepared to have it examined, but I should like to point out that there may be such cases as a man enlisting, say, in Dundalk, serving in Dublin and marrying a girl from Castletownbere. The difference in transport costs as between Dundalk and Castletownbere would be pretty high. I doubt, of course, if there would be many such cases and I doubt if anyone who had been for a long time around the capital would want to go to Castletownbere, just because his wife came from there but in case such cases might arise, I shall have the matter examined from the point of seeing if it would be possible to do anything about it.

Mr. Colley

It would be desirable this should be done, because it does seem very mean that, at the end of long service, a man should get only part of the cost of travelling where he wants to go. As it stands at the moment, does it mean that if a man does not go to the place he enlisted but wants to go somewhere else which involves a greater cost, he does not get even the cost of going to the place where he enlisted ?

Mr. Traynor

He does.

Mr. Colley

It is not very clear.

Chairman

It is the practice that he gets it.

Captain Cowan

Under the section, you might not give it to him.

Mr. Traynor

It has never been refused.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Section 70 agreed to.

Amendment No. 76 not moved.

Section 71 agreed to.

Amendments No. 77 and 78 not moved.

Section 72 agreed to.