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| Reference |
DOD/3/13653
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| Title |
Allowances: Extension of the Provision of Special Allowances to the Widows &
Children of deceased IRA Pensioners
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| Date |
27 April 1951 - January 1972 |
| Scope and Content |
File relates to a direction of the Minister for Defence, (Lt Gen Seán MacEoin) to the Secretary (Lt Gen Peadar Mac Mahon) to prepare a memorandum for “proposal” for payment of allowances for widows of ex IRA personnel who died in receipt of military service pensions and disability (disablement) pensions, to find out the number of widows likely involved, to cost at the same as for special allowance rate and to provide for the total abolition and cost of abatement of pensions (1p dated 1951).
Proposals are submitted to the Secretary Department of Finance (2pp dated 17 May 1951). Copy letter dated 19 March 1952 is attached to copy draft letter from file 3/11327 pointing out that no provision is made in that draft for relevant amendments to be included in legislation to give effect to the Ministers (Mac Eoin) direction (3pp dated 21 March 1952). A memorandum detailing numbers of veterans on pay, number of widows in receipt of special allowances and other details, including a forecast of expenditure up to 1960 and outlining the possible means for calculation of widows pension regarding the general provision in the Social Welfare Acts for widows is prepared by Finance Branch (12pp dated 26 January 1955).
Memorandum following an interview by the Minister (Mr James Gibbons T.D.) with Mr. Seán Dowling of the “Federation of the IRA 1916-1921” (2pp dated 21 January 1971) and up to date costing are provided in [January 1971] (5pp). Other material on file outlines the difficulties foreseen and likely approach by the Department of Finance, outlines the history of the case since 1951 and proposes that the special allowance scheme be extended to widows, points to inadequacies in the staffing of Finance Branch and states that the “prospect is not a pleasant one” when taken in conjunction with other things building up such as free travel (2pp dated 12 February 1971).
Copy extract from Budget Statement 1971 (3pp), copy letter, Department of Finance to Finance Officer, Department of Defence outlines the increase decided in the Budget (1p dated 7 May 1971) and “memo” dated 21 June 1971 gives sanction for staff increases in Finance Branch to effect payments (1p).
Application for the award of the allowance under the Army Pensions Act, 1971 are received from the widows of three senior Defence Forces Officers and point to an anomaly in the legislation. Sanction from Department of Finance for the allowances to be awarded in the three cases on an extra-statutory basis is given, a provision to made in the “next suitable bill to cover cases of the type mentioned” (8pp dated 24 November 1971).
Appended to the file are the following: copy memorandum for the Government Amendments to the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1968 (3pp), copy memorandum allowances for the widows of military service pensioners and Connaught Rangers service pensioners (2pp), copy letter from Department of Social Welfare dated 25 May 1971 (1p), copy Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Act, 1936 in type with annotations/additions in manuscript (4pp), printed copy Army Pensions Act, 1949 (32pp), printed copy Army Pensions Act, 1923 (26pp), printed copy Army Pensions Act, 1953 (80pp), printed copy Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968 (34pp), printed copy Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Act, 1936 (38pp) and copy Memorandum for the Government on the Army Pensions Bill, 1971 (2pp).
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