No. 299/1940:

DEFENCE FORCES (PENSIONS) (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1940.

DEFENCE FORCES (PENSIONS) (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1940.

ARRANGEMENT OF ARTICLES.

1. Short title and commencement.

2. Interpretation.

3. Definitions.

4. Amendment of Article 11 of the Principal Scheme.

5. Amendment of Article 12 of the Principal Scheme.

6. Gratuities to Temporary Officers of the Air Corps.

7. Amendment of Article 13 of the Principal Scheme.

8. Amendment of Article 19 of the Principal Scheme.

9. Amendment of Article 20 of the Principal Scheme.

10. Amendment of Article 27 of the Principal Scheme.

11. Amendment of Article 28 of the Principal Scheme.

12. Amendment of Article 29 of the Principal Scheme.

13. Provisions in relation to officers dying subsequent to retirement and before grant of retired pay.

14. Gratuities to widows and children of certain soldiers.

WHEREAS it is enacted by subsection (1) of section 2 of the Defence Forces (Pensions) Act, 1932 (No. 26 of 1932), that the Minister for Defence may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, prepare a scheme (in the said Act referred to as a pension scheme) with the object of providing (a) retired pay, pensions, and gratuities for or in respect of officers of the Forces to whom such scheme applies, and (b) pensions and gratuities for or in respect of non-commissioned officers and men of the Forces to whom such scheme applies ; and (c) pensions and gratuities for members of the Army Nursing Service to whom such scheme applies, and (subject to confirmation under the said Act) carry such scheme into execution :

AND WHEREAS it is enacted by section 4 of the said Act that no pension scheme shall come into force unless and until it has been laid before each House of the Oireachtas and has been confirmed by resolution of each such House :

AND WHEREAS it is enacted by section 5 of the said Act that a pension scheme may be amended by a subsequent pension scheme made and confirmed in the like manner as the original scheme :

AND WHEREAS the Defence Forces (Pensions) Scheme, 1937 (Statutory Rules and Orders No. 249 of 1937), was made under the said Act, and came into force on the 27th day of October, 1937 :

AND WHEREAS the said Act was amended by the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Act, 1938 (No. 33 of 1938) :

AND WHEREAS it is expedient that the said Defence Forces (Pensions) Scheme, 1937, be amended in the manner hereinafter appearing :

NOW, THEREFORE, I, OSCAR TRAYNOR, Minister for Defence, with the consent of the Minister for Finance testified by his signature hereto, do hereby, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by the Defence Forces (Pensions) Acts, 1932 and 1938, and of every and any other power me in this behalf enabling, make the following Scheme, that is to say :—

1.—(1) This Scheme may be cited as the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1940.

(2) This Scheme shall come into operation immediately upon it being confirmed by resolution of each House of the Oireachtas.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to this Scheme.

3.—(1) In this Scheme, the expression " the Principal Scheme means the Defence Forces (Pensions) Scheme, 1937 (Statutory Rules and Orders No. 249 of 1937).

(2) Every word and expression used in this Scheme to which a particular meaning is given by the Principal Scheme for the purposes of the Principal Scheme has in this Scheme the meaning so given to it.

4. Sub-Article (3) of Article 11 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by insertion therein of the following paragraph in lieu of paragraph (b), that is to say :—

" (b) is the father of a child, who is, in the case of a girl, under the age of eighteen years or, in the case of a girl, under the age of twenty-one years and unmarried, and ".

5.—(1) Sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (b) of sub-article (4) of Article 12 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the insertion at the end of the said sub-paragraph of the words " or the rank of Second Lieutenant, whichever is the higher".

(2) Sub-article (1) of this Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 27th day of October, 1937.

(3) Where, by virtue of the amendment of Article 12 of the Principal Scheme effected by sub-article (1) of this Article, a gratuity is granted under the said Article 12 to any person, there shall be deducted from such gratuity a sum equal to the amount of any ex-gratia payment made by the Minister to such person on his retirement.

6. The principal Scheme shall be construed and have effect as if there were inserted after Article 12 thereof the following new Article, that is to say :—

" 12A. (1) Where an officer who has held a temporary commission in the Air Corps retires and is upon such retirement appointed to commissioned rank in the Reserve of Officers, there may, subject to the provisions of this Scheme, be granted to such officer—

(a) in case he held such temporary commission for not less than two and a half years and less than four and a half years, a gratuity of £200, or

(b) in case he held such temporary commission for not less than four and a half years, a gratuity of £300.

(2) Where an officer who has held a temporary commission in the Air Force for not less than two and a half years is retired on the ground of mental or physical incapacity or retires voluntarily, and his retirement is not occasioned by his own misconduct or default, there may, subject to the provisions of this Scheme, be granted to such officer a gratuity of two hundred pounds.

(3) Where a gratuity is granted to an officer under this Article, no other award shall be made under this Scheme to such officer in respect of any service rendered prior to such officer's retirement with such gratuity."

7.—(1) Sub-article (1) of Article 13 of the Principal Scheme shall be construed and have effect as if, in paragraph (a) of the said sub-article, the words " of the office of the Adjutant-General " were inserted after the words " Legal Branch."

(2) Paragraph (a) of sub-article (4) of Article 13 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the insertion therein of the following sub-paragraph in lieu of sub-paragraph (i), that is to say :—

" (i) who—

(I) is serving with any of the following branches of the Forces namely—

The Army Medical Service,

the Corps of Engineers,

the Legal Branch of the Office of the Adjutant-General,

the Army School of Music,

the Signal Corps,

the Army Ordnance Service, or

(II) is a Veterinary Officer, and ".

(3) Paragraph (b) of sub-article (4) of Article 13 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the deletion of the word " Army."

8. Article 19 of the Principal Scheme shall, in addition to any person to whom it applies by virtue of sub-article (4) of the said Article 19, also apply to the following persons, that is to say—

(a) a person—

(i) who was an officer of the Forces at any time during the period commencing on the 16th day of December, 1932, and ending on the 26th day of October, 1937, and

(ii) who, during such period and while he was such officer, was appointed to be a member of the Gárda Síochána and

(iii) whose pensionable service was one year or more, and

(iv) who did not receive on his retirement a gratuity in respect of his service in the National Army ; and

(b) a person—

(i) who was, on or after the date of the coming into operation of this Scheme, an officer of the National Army, and

(ii) who, on or after the said date, was while such officer or within one month after his retirement was appointed to a pensionable post in the Civil Service or to be a member of the Gárda Síochána, and

(iii) whose pensionable service was one year or more.

9.—(1) Sub-article (6) of Article 20 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (b) of the said sub-article of the words " or who was retired on the grounds of permanent infirmity of mind or body " after the word " inefficiency."

This sub-article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 27th day of October, 1937.

(2) Article 20 of the Principal Scheme shall also apply to an officer who—

(a) died while serving in the Forces, and

(b) was commissioned as an officer of the Forces on the 8th day of December, 1933, and died on the 10th day of July, 1938.

(3) Article 20 of the Principal Scheme shall also apply to an officer—

(a) who died between the 16th day of December, 1932, and the 26th day of October, 1937, and

(b) who was, at the date of his death, serving as an office of the Forces, and

(c) whose pensionable service was twelve years or more.

(4) Article 20 of the Principal Scheme shall also apply to an officer—

(a) who died on the 12th day of January, 1935, and

(b) who resigned his commission as an officer of the Forces on the 11th day of January, 1935, and

(c) who was granted a certificate of military service under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1924 (No. 48 of 1924), but was not granted a pension under that Act, and

(d) whose pensionable service (including, notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph (b) of Rule 3 of the First Schedule to the Principal Scheme, service before the 1st day of October, 1923) was twelve years or more.

(5) Sub-article (8) of Article 20 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the substitution therein of the following paragraph in lieu of paragraph (b), that is to say :—

" (b) if such officer died after his retirement from the Forces, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say :—

(i) in case such officer was at the date of his death in receipt of retired pay, the said word shall mean the rank by reference to which his retired pay was computed,

(ii) in any other case, the said word shall mean the lowest commissioned rank held by him during the year immediately preceding his retirement."

(6) Where

(a) a pension is granted under Article 20 of the Principal Scheme to the widow of a deceased officer to whom the said Article 20 applies by virtue of sub-article (2) or sub-article (3) or sub-article (4) of this Article, and

(b) a gratuity has been paid under regulations made by the Minister or under the Principal Scheme to such widow,

such pension shall be granted subject to the condition that the amount of such gratuity is either (as the Minister shall direct) refunded to the Minister or deducted from such pension in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(7) Where a pension is granted under Article 20 of the Principal Scheme to the widow or child of a deceased officer to whom the said Article 20 applies by virtue of sub-article (3) or sub-article (4) of this Article, such pension shall commence to be payable as on and from the day after the day on which such officer died.

10.—(1) Article 27 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended in the following respects, and the Principal Scheme shall be construed and have effect accordingly, that is to say :

(a) by the insertion in paragraph (b) of sub-article (4) of the said Article of the words " certificate, band, flying, or extra " after the word " additional " wherever the latter word occurs ;

(b) by the insertion of the following new sub-article at the end of the said Article 27, that is to say :—

" (5) For the purposes of this Article a soldier shall be deemed to have been in receipt of additional, certificate, band, flying or extra pay immediately before his discharge, notwithstanding that such pay was not issued to him during any period of leave granted to him immediately prior to such discharge, if he was in receipt of such pay immediately before such period of leave."

(2) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 27th day of October, 1937.

11.—(1) Sub-article (1) of Article 28 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (a) of the said sub-article of the word " twenty-one " in lieu of the word " twenty".

(2) Sub-article (1) of this article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 27th day of October, 1937.

(3) Sub-article (2) of Article 28 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended in the following respects, that is to say :—

(a) by the insertion in paragraph (e) of the said sub-article of the words " or inefficiency " after the word " misconduct " ;

(b) by the substitution therein of the following new paragraphs in lieu of paragraph (f), that is to say :—

" (f) he is discharged or transferred to the Reserve to take up civil employment, or

(g) he is discharged for the purpose of being appointed to commissioned rank, or

(h) he is transferred to the Reserve at his own request prior to the expiration of his period of army service."

(4) In the case of a soldier in occupation of married quarters, no gratuity shall be payable to him under Article 28 of the Principal Scheme until he has surrendered such quarters, and any moneys due in respect of the overholding of such quarters shall be recoverable from such gratuity.

12.—(1) Article 29 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the insertion therein of the words " the day after " before the words " the date".

(2) This article shall be deemed to have come into operation no, and shall have effect as on and from, the 27th day of October, 1937.

13.—(1) Where an officer to whom any of the following Articles of the Principal Scheme, namely, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13, applies, dies subsequent to his retirement and before he is granted retired pay, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say :—

(a) there may, subject to the provisions of the Principal Scheme, be paid to the legal personal representative of such officer a sum equivalent to the amount of retired pay, which would if he had been in receipt of retired pay at the date of his death, have been payable to him for the period commencing on the date of retirement and ending on the date of his death,

(b) such officer shall, for the purposes of Article 20 of the Principal Scheme, be deemed to have been in receipt of retired pay at the date of his death.

(2) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 1st day of April, 1940.

14.—(1) Where—

(a) a soldier dies while serving in the Forces, and

(b) the circumstances are such that a gratuity could have been granted to him under Article 27 or Article 28 of the Principal Scheme if he had been discharged from the Forces on the date of his death, and

(c) such soldier leaves a widow or a child or children under the age of 16 years, and

(d) no allowance or gratuity is payable under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1937, to the widow or child or children of such soldier in respect of such soldier's death,

the Minister may pay to the widow or child or children, as he may deem fit, a gratuity, the amount of which shall be calculated—

(i) in case such soldier was a long-service soldier, in accordance with the rate mentioned in sub-article (2) of Article 27 of the Principal Scheme,

(ii) in case such soldier was a short-service soldier, in accordance with Article 28 of the Principal Scheme.

(2) This Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 27th day of October, 1937.

Given under my Official Seal this 24th day of October, 1940.

(Signed) OSCAR TRAYNOR,

Minister for Defence.

I consent to the foregoing Scheme.

SEÁN T. O CEALLAIGH,

Minister for Finance.