S.I. No. 209/1949:

DEFENCE FORCES (PENSIONS) (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1949.

DEFENCE FORCES (PENSIONS) (AMENDMENT) SCHEME, 1949.

ARRANGEMENT OF ARTICLES.

Article.

1. Short title and commencement.

2. Application of Interpretation Act, 1937.

3. Interpretation.

4. Amendment of Article 3 of the Principal Scheme.

5. Retired pay of officer serving as Chief of Staff, Adjutant General or Quartermaster-General who retires while so serving.

6. Right of retired officer entitled prospectively to a pension under Article 19 of the Principal Scheme to an immediate payment of a gratuity in lieu of that pension.

7. Amendment of Article 20 of the Principal Scheme.

8. Amendment of Article 23A of the Principal Scheme.

9. Amendment of Article 26A of the Principal Scheme.

10. Amendment of Article 28A of the Principal Scheme.

11. Amendment of Article 32 of the Principal Scheme.

12. Pensions and gratuities of members of the Chaplaincy Service-

13. Amendment of Article 35 of the Principal Scheme.

14. Amendment of First Schedule to the Principal Scheme.

15. Amendment of Second Schedule to the Principal Scheme.

16. Amendment of Fifth Schedule to the Principal Scheme.

17. Amendment of Seventh Schedule to the Principal Scheme.

18. Rules for computing pensions of members of the Chaplaincy Service.

19. Amendment of Article 42 of the Amending Scheme of 1947,

20. Gratuities in respect of certain deceased officers.

I, THOMAS F. O'HIGGINS, 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 to 1949, 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, 1949.

(2) This Scheme shall come into operation immediately upon its 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 ( S. R. & O. No. 249 of 1937 ), as amended by the Amending Scheme of 1940, and the Amending Scheme of 1947 ;

the expression " the Amending Scheme of 1940 " means the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1940 ( S. R. & O. No. 299 of 1940 ) ;

the expression " the Amending Scheme of 1947 " means the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) Scheme, 1947 ( S. R. & O. No. 81 of 1947 ).

(2) This Scheme shall be construed as one with the Principal Scheme.

(3) References in this Scheme to the Principal Scheme shall be construed as references to the Principal Scheme as amended by this Scheme.

4.--(1) The Principal Scheme shall be construed and have effect as if the following were added to Article 3 thereof--

" the word ' member,' when used without qualification, means,--

(a) where it occurs in Part IV of, or in the Seventh Schedule to, this Scheme, a member of the Army Nursing Service,

(b) where it occurs in Part IV A. of, or in the Eight Schedule to, this Scheme, a member of the Chaplaincy Service."

(2) The definition (contained in Article 3 of the Principal Scheme) of the word " member " is hereby revoked.

(3) Sub-articles (1) and (2) of this Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 1st day of December, 1944.

5.--(1) The Principal Scheme shall be construed and have effect as if the following Article were inserted therein in lieu of Article 6--

" 6.--(1) There may, subject to the provisions of this Scheme, be granted to an officer to whom this Article applies retired pay at the rate per annum specified in the second column of the Table to this Article opposite the mention, in the first column of the said Table, of the rank held by him on retirement.

(2) This Article applies to an officer who is compulsorily retired while holding the appointment of Chief of Staff, Adjutant-General or Quartermaster-General.

(3) This Article also applies to an officer--

(a) whose pensionable service is twenty years or more, and

(b) who retires while holding the appointment of Chief of Staff, and

(c) who has held that appointment for not less than two years and three months.

(2) The reference, in sub-article (1) of Article 14 of the Amending Scheme of 1947, to Article 6 of the Principal Scheme shall be construed as a reference to the Article inserted in the Principal Scheme by sub-article (1) of this Article.

(3) Sub-articles (1) and (2) of this Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on and shall have effect as on and from the 30th day of November, 1948.

6. A person to whom Article 19 of the Principal Scheme applies and who resigned from the Forces with effect as from the 31st day of March, 1927, and who has not been granted a pension under the said Article 19 may, within six months from the date on which this Scheme comes into operation, send to the Minister a notice in writing that he elects to receive a gratuity under this Article in lieu of his prospective right to a pension under the said Article 19, and, if he does so, the following provisions shall have effect--

(a) his right to a pension under the said Article 19 shall determine,

(b) he shall be paid a gratuity of an amount equal to the amount of the gratuity which could have been paid to him on his resignation from the Forces under the Defence Force Regulation then in operation providing for the grant of gratuities to Officers on resignation.

7. Article 20 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended in the following respects--

(a) by the insertion, in paragraph (c) of sub-article (6), of the words " or qualified for a grant of " before the words " retired pay,"

(b) by the insertion, in paragraph (c) of sub-article (7), of the words " or qualified for a grant of " before the words " retired pay."

8. Article 23A of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended in the following respects--

(a) by the insertion in sub-article (1), in lieu of paragraph (a), of the following paragraph--

" (a) an officer is absent from duty--

(i) on authorised sick leave, or

(ii) while undergoing authorised medical or surgical or sanatorium treatment in a hospital or quarters or otherwise, and,"

(b) by the insertion of the following new sub-article--

" (3) For the purposes of this Article additional pay shall be deemed to include flying pay."

9.--(1) Sub-article (4) of Article 26A of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the insertion, in lieu of paragraph (a), of the following paragraph--

" (a) a soldier shall be deemed to have been a married man at the date of his discharge--

(i) if marriage allowance was payable on such date, or

(ii) if his wife was on such date being maintained in an institution and, but for that fact, marriage allowance would have been payable to him on such date, or

(iii) if, being a widower, a child's or children's allowance was payable under Defence Force Regulations on such date ; ".

(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 2nd day of September, 1946.

10. In clause (i) of paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) of Article 28A of the Principal Scheme, the words " twelve years or more and " shall be deleted.

11.--(1) In clause (ii) of paragraph (b) of sub-article (1) of Article 32 of the Principal Scheme, the words " five years or more and " shall be inserted before the words " less than twenty years."

(2) (a) The following sub-article shall be inserted in Article 32 of the Principal Scheme--

" (2A) Subject to the provisions of this Scheme, there may be granted to a member, who resigns, and is not entitled to a pension under this part of this Scheme, and whose qualifying service is five years or more and less than twenty years, a gratuity of an amount equal to one month's pay for each year of her qualifying service or one year's pay, whichever is the less."

(b) Paragraph (a) of this sub-article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 1st day of December, 1944.

12. The Principal Scheme shall, with effect as on and from the 1st day of December, 1944, be construed as if the following provisions were inserted therein between Parts IV and V thereof--

"

PART IV A.

PENSIONS AND GRATUITIES OF MEMBERS OF THE CHAPLAINCY SERVICE.

Qualifying service of members of Chaplaincy Service.

34A.--(1) In this Part of this Scheme the expression " qualifying service " shall be construed in accordance with the following provisions, that is to say--

(a) any period of authorised leave of absence without pay shall not count towards qualifying service ;

(b) authorised leave of absence (not exceeding thirty-one days in any one year) without pay shall not be treated as interrupting continuity of service ;

(c) continuous and full-time service as a member with the National Army before the formation of the Chaplaincy Service shall be deemed to be service in the Chaplaincy Service ;

(d) subject to the foregoing provisions of this sub-article, qualifying service of a member shall be continuous and full-time service in the Chaplaincy Service.

(2) For the purposes of this Part of this Scheme the number of years of qualifying service of a member shall be taken to be the number of days of his qualifying service divided by the number three hundred and sixty-five, any fraction over being disregarded.

Pensions of certain members of the Chaplaincy Service.

34B.--(1) Subject to the provisions of this Scheme, there may, on the termination of his service, be granted to a member to whom this Article applies a pension of an amount not exceeding an amount computed in accordance with the rules contained in the Eighth Schedule to this Scheme.

(2) This Article applies to--

(a) a member whose qualifying service is twenty years or more ;

(b) a member whose qualifying service is ten years or more and less than twenty years and who on termination of his service satisfies the Minister that he is unable, because of permanent infirmity of mind or body, to discharge the duties of a member of the Chaplaincy Service ;

(c) a member whose qualifying service is fifteen years or more and less than twenty years, and who was serving on the 27th day of October, 1937, as a full-time member.

Gratuities to certain members of the Chaplaincy Service.

34C. Subject to the provisions of this Scheme, there may, on the termination of his service, be granted to a member to whom this Article applies a gratuity of an amount not exceeding a sum equal to one month's pay for each completed year of his qualifying service.

This Article applies to--

(a) a member whose qualifying service is less than ten years and who on termination of his service satisfies the Minister that he is unable, because of permanent infirmity of body or mind, to discharge the duties of a member of the Chaplaincy Service, and

(b) a member whose qualifying service is five years or more and less than twenty years, and whose services are terminated for reasons other than permanent infirmity of body or mind and who is not entitled to a pension under this Part of this Scheme.

Miscellaneous provisions in relation to pensions and gratuities under Part IV A.

34D.--(1) Where--

(a) a pension or gratuity is payable to a member under this Part of this Scheme, and

(b) the services of such member were terminated on account of infirmity due to injury, and

(c) such member has received compensation in respect of such injury,

the amount of such compensation may be taken into account in assessing the amount of such pension or gratuity.

(2) Where--

(a) a pension has been granted to a member under this part of this Scheme; and

(b) the services of such member were terminated on account of infirmity due to injury, and

(c) such member subsequently receives compensation in respect of such injury,

such pension may be revoked or reduced as on and from the date on which such compensation is paid.

(3) Where a gratuity (in this Article referred to as the said gratuity) has been paid to any member under any regulations made under the Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1923 (No. 3 of 1923), in respect of any period of qualifying service (in this Article referred to as the said period), the following provisions shall have effect--

(a) no gratuity shall be payable under this Part of this Scheme in respect of the said period, and

(b) where a pension is payable under this Part of this Scheme in respect of the said period, the grant of such pension shall be made subject to the condition that a sum equal to the said gratuity shall be paid to the Minister, and the Minister may withold payment of the pension until the said sum has been paid.

Date for commencement of pensions under Part IV A.

34E. A pension under this Part of this Scheme shall be payable as from the date on which the termination of the services of the member to whom it is payable becomes effective.

Suspension of pension of member re-appointed to Chaplaincy Service.

34F. Where a member who has been granted a pension under this part of this Scheme is re-appointed to the Chaplaincy Service his pension shall be suspended during the period he remains a member of the Chaplaincy Service following such re-appointment."

13.--(1) Article 35 of the Principal Scheme is hereby amended in the following respects--

(a) in sub-article (1), there shall be substituted, for the words and figure ' or pension under Part IV of this Scheme,' the words and figures ' pension under Part IV of this Scheme or pension under Part IV A of this Scheme,'

(b) in sub-article (3), there shall be substituted, for the words and figure ' or a gratuity under Part IV of this Scheme,' the words and figures ' a gratuity under Part IV of this Scheme or a gratuity under Part IV A of this Scheme.'

(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 1st day of December, 1944.

14. In sub-rule (2) of Rule 1 of the First Schedule to the Principal Scheme, there shall be substituted, for the words " his qualifying service " the words " continuous qualifying service."

15. The Table to Second Schedule to the Principal Scheme is hereby amended in the following respects--

(a) by the insertion in column (1) of the words " Second Lieutenant or " before the word " Lieutenant,"

(b) by the insertion in column (5) of the figure " 260 " in lieu of the figure " 200,"

(c) by the insertion in column (6) of the figure " 30 " in lieu of the figure " 40."

16.--(1) The Fifth Schedule to the Principal Scheme is hereby amended by the substitution, in lieu of Rule 3, of the following Rule--

" 3. The amount of the said gratuity payable to an officer in whose case this Schedule is applicable shall be--

(a) in case he was appointed to commissioned rank in the Forces on the 8th day of December, 1933, the 19th day of December, 1933, or the 17th day of February, 1934, the result arrived at by multiplying the appropriate sum by the number twenty,

(b) in any other case, the result arrived at by multiplying the appropriate sum by a number equal to whichever is the less of the following--

(i) the number twenty,

(ii) a number equal to the number of years of his pensionable service."

(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 1st day of April, 1947.

17. The Seventh Schedule to the Principal Scheme is hereby amended in the following respects--

(a) in paragraph (c) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 1, the words " shall be taken to be the sum of the following " shall be substituted for the words " shall include " ;

(b) there shall be added to sub-rule (3) of Rule 1 the following new paragraph--

" (c) a member provided with accommodation in kind shall be deemed to be in receipt of an allowance in respect of accommodation."

18. The Principal Scheme shall, with effect as on and from the 1st day of December, 1944, be construed and have effect as if there were inserted therein after the Seventh Schedule the following--

"

EIGHTH SCHEDULE.

RULES FOR COMPUTING PENSIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE CHAPLAINCY SERVICE.

1.--(1) For the purposes of this Schedule, the annual emoluments of a member shall be taken to be the sum of the following--

(a) the annual pay of such member at the time of the termination of his service, and

(b) the annual amount of the following allowances reckonable as on the date on which the services of such member were terminated--

(i) consolidated ration allowance, and

(ii) an allowance in respect of accommodation which shall be deemed to be at a rate equivalent to one-half of the rate of lodging, fuel and light allowance payable to a married officer not in occupation of quarters.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of sub-rule (1) of this Rule, the annual pay of a member at the time of the termination of his service shall, in case he held his retiring grade of appointment for less than twelve months be taken to be the annual pay appropriate to the grade held by him twelve months immediately prior to such termination.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (b) of sub-rule (1) of this Rule--

(a) a member provided with rations in kind shall be deemed to be in receipt of consolidated ration allowance, and

(b) a member provided with accommodation shall be deemed to be in receipt of lodging, fuel and light allowance at a rate equal to one-half of the rate payable to a married officer not in occupation of quarters.

2. The amount of a pension payable to a member in whose case this Schedule is applicable shall be whichever is the less of the following, that is to say--

(a) one-sixtieth of his annual emoluments for each year of his qualifying service, with an additional one-sixtieth for the twenty-first and each succeeding year of qualifying service ;

(b) two-thirds of his annual emoluments."

19. Paragraph (b) of sub-article (5) of Article 42 of the Amending Scheme of 1947 is hereby amended, with effect as on and from the 18th day of June, 1947, in the following respects--

(i) by the deletion of the words " to him," and

(ii) by the substitution of the word and figure " sub-article (3) " for the word and figure " sub-article (2) ".

20.--(1) Where--

(a) an officer dies while serving in the Forces, and

(b) the circumstances are such that a gratuity could have been granted to him under sub-article (2) of Article 12A of the Principal Scheme on his retirement from the Forces if he had retired voluntarily on the date of his death, and

(c) such officer leaves a relative,

the Minister may pay, in respect of such officer, a gratuity of two hundred pounds.

(2) Where--

(a) an officer who held temporary commissioned rank dies while serving in the Forces, and

(b) the circumstances are such that a gratuity could have been granted to him under Article 12B of the Principal Scheme if he had ceased to hold such temporary commissioned rank on the date of his death, and

(c) such officer leaves a relative,

the Minister may pay, in respect of such officer, a gratuity of an amount equal to the amount which could have been granted to such officer under Article 12B of the Principal Scheme if he had ceased to hold such temporary commissioned rank on the date of his death.

(3) Where--

(a) an officer dies while serving in the Forces, and

(b) his pensionable service is five years or more, and

(c) such officer leaves a relative, and

(d) no pension under Article 20 of the Principal Scheme or gratuity under sub-article (1) or (2) of this Article is payable in respect of him,

the Minister may pay, in respect of such officer, a gratuity of an amount equal to whichever of the following sums is the less--

(I) a sum equal to thirty days of his daily pay at the date of his death for each year of his pensionable service,

(II) a sum equal to three hundred and sixty-five days of his daily pay at the date of his death.

(4) (a) Where--

(i) an officer--

dies after retiring from the Forces, but before a grant of retired pay or a gratuity has been made to him, or dies after retiring from the Forces and a grant of retired pay or a gratuity has been made to him, but no payment on foot thereof has been made, and

(ii) his pensionable service is five years or more, and

(iii) such officer leaves a relative, and

(iv) no pension under Article 20 of the Principal Scheme or gratuity under sub-article (1) or (2) of this Article is payable in respect of him,

the Minister may pay, in respect of such officer, a gratuity of an amount equal to whichever of the following sums is the less--

(I) a sum equal to, in case he was retired on the grounds of permanent infirmity of body or mind or was compulsorily retired for any cause (other than age, misconduct, inefficiency or mental or physical incapacity), forty-five days of his daily pay at, or, in any other case, thirty days of his daily pay at, the date of his retirement for each year of his pensionable service,

(II) a sum equal to three hundred and sixty-five days of his daily pay at the date of his retirement.

(b) Where a gratuity under this sub-article is payable in respect of an officer who died after retiring from the Forces and who was granted retired pay or a gratuity but who received no payment on foot thereof, the gratuity under this sub-article shall be reduced by an amount equal to the sum due to his personal representatives on foot of the retired pay or gratuity so granted to him.

(5) Where--

(a) an officer dies while in receipt of retired pay, and

(b) no pension is payable in respect of him under Article 20 of the Principal Scheme, and

(c) the amount of the payments made on foot of the retired pay is less than the amount of the gratuity which could have been paid in respect of him under sub-article (3) of this Article if he had died while serving in the Forces, and

(d) such officer leaves a relative,

the Minister may pay, in respect of such officer, a gratuity of an amount equal to the difference between the payments so made on foot of the retired pay and the gratuity referred to in paragraph (c) of this sub-article.

(6) Where a gratuity in respect of an officer may be paid under any one of the preceding sub-articles of this Article, such gratuity shall (if granted) be paid--

(a) if he leaves only one relative, to such relative,

(b) if he leaves two or more relatives, to such one or more, exclusively of the others or other, of the said relatives as the Minister may appoint, and if such power is exercised in favour of more than one of them, in such shares as the Minister may appoint.

(7) For the purposes of this Article each of the following and no other person shall be a relative of an officer--

(a) his widow,

(b) his son,

(c) his daughter,

(d) his mother,

(e) his father,

(f) his brother,

(g) his sister.

(8) For the purpose of sub-articles (3) and (4) of this Article, the pay of an officer at the date (in this sub-article referred to as the critical date) of his retirement or death (whichever is relevant) shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions--

(a) in case he had at the critical date, either five years' pensionable service in the rank held by him at the critical date or less than five years' pensionable service in such rank but was reduced to such rank within five years from the critical date, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say :--

(i) his pay at the critical date shall be taken to be his actual pay at the critical date ;

(ii) if he was at the critical date and had been for five years immediately preceding it in receipt of additional pay, his pay at the critical date shall be taken to include such additional pay ;

(b) in any other case, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say :--

(i) his notional rank for the purposes of this paragraph shall be taken to be the rank held by him on the day five years before the critical date or the rank of Second Lieutenant, whichever is the higher,

his pay at the critical date shall be taken to be the pay appropriate to his notional rank,

(iii) if the pay appropriate to his notional rank varies with the number of years' service in that rank, he shall be deemed to have held that rank during the period he held his notional rank and any higher rank,

(iv) if he was at the critical date and had for five years immediately preceding it been in receipt of additional pay, his pay at the critical date shall be taken to include the additional pay appropriate to his notional rank.

(9) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Article--

(a) where a gratuity would be payable, but for this sub-article, under this Article to any person, and

(b) a gratuity is also payable to such person under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1946, as amended by any subsequent enactment,

the gratuity under this Article shall, if it is less than or equal to the gratuity under the said Acts, not be payable and shall, if it is greater than the gratuity under the said Acts, be reduced by the amount of that gratuity.

(10) Article 13 of the Amending Scheme of 1940 and Article 41 of the Amending Scheme of 1947 are hereby revoked.

(11) The preceding sub-articles of this Article shall be deemed to have come into operation on, and shall have effect as on and from, the 3rd day of September, 1946.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 12th day of July, 1949.

(Signed) T. F. O'HIGGINS,

Minister for Defence.

I consent to the foregoing Scheme.

(Signed) P. McGILLIGAN

Minister for Finance.