ARMY PENSIONS ACT, 1959

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE ARMY PENSIONS ACTS, 1923 TO 1957. [21st July, 1959.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

“the Act of 1923” means the Army Pensions Act, 1923;

“the Act of 1927” means the Army Pensions Act, 1927;

“the Act of 1932” means the Army Pensions Act, 1932;

“the Act of 1943” means the Army Pensions Act, 1943;

“the Act of 1946” means the Army Pensions Act, 1946;

“the Act of 1949” means the Army Pensions Act, 1949;

“the Act of 1953” means the Army Pensions Act, 1953;

“the Act of 1957” means the Army Pensions Act, 1957;

“the Acts” means the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1957;

“the operative date” means the date of the passing of this Act.

• (2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Acts.

• (3) References in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment including this Act.

2 Amendment of sections 7 and 8 of and the Second and Third Schedules to the Act of 1923.

2.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 8 or 9 of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1923, an allowance may be granted under section 7 or 8 of the Act of 1923 to the widow or child of a deceased officer, whether such widow or child was or was not wholly or partially dependent on such deceased officer at the date of his death.

• (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 7 or 8 of the Third Schedule to the Act of 1923, an allowance may be granted under section 7 or 8 of the Act of 1923 to the widow or child of a deceased soldier, whether such widow or child was or was not wholly or partially dependent on such deceased soldier at the date of his death.

• (3) Where an allowance is granted, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, to the widow or child of a deceased officer or, by virtue of subsection (2) of this section, to the widow or child of a deceased soldier—

• (a) the allowance shall commence on such date (not earlier than the operative date) as the Minister may determine,

• (b) neither subsection (2) of section 7 of the Act of 1923 nor subsection (2) of section 8 of the Act of 1923 shall apply in relation to the commencement of the allowance.

• (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Acts, an application for the grant of an allowance, which may be granted by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) of this section, may be made not later than twelve months after the operative date.

3 Amendment of section 14 (1) and section 15 (1) of and the Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1927.

3.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 8 or 9 of Part 1 of the Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1927, an allowance may be granted under paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) of section 14 of the Act of 1927 or under subsection (1) of section 15 of the Act of 1927 to the widow or child of a deceased officer, whether such widow or child was or was not wholly or partially dependent on such deceased officer at the date of his death.

• (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 7 or 8 of Part II of the Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1927, an allowance may be granted under paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) of section 14 of the Act of 1927 or under subsection (1) of section 15 of the Act of 1927 to the widow or child of a deceased soldier, whether such widow or child was or was not wholly or partially dependent on such deceased soldier at the date of his death.

• (3) Where an allowance is granted by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, to the widow or child of a deceased officer or, by virtue of subsection (2) of this section, to the widow or child of a deceased soldier—

• (a) the allowance shall commence on—

• (i) in case the officer or soldier died before the operative date—the operative date, or

• (ii) in case the officer or soldier died on or after the operative date—such date (not earlier than the date of his death) as the Minister may determine,

• (b) neither subsection (8) of section 14 of the Act of 1927 nor subsection (5) of section 15 of the Act of 1927 shall apply in relation to the commencement of the allowance.

• (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Acts, an application for the grant of an allowance, which may be granted by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) of this section, may be made not later than twelve months after the operative date.

• (5) Where before the operative date a gratuity has been granted, under paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section 14 of the Act of 1927, to the widow of a deceased person, then, notwithstanding anything contained in the said subsection (1), an allowance may be granted under paragraph (ii) of the said subsection (1) to such widow, and if the allowance is granted to her, then, the amount paid in respect of the gratuity shall be treated as an advance on foot of the allowance.

4 Construction of section 14 (2) (d) and section 15 (2) (d) of the Act of 1927.

4.—(1) This section applies to a deceased person—

• (a) who served in the Forces, and

• (b) who was granted a pension and

• (c) who was also granted a married pension at either a rate set out in the First Schedule to the Act of 1946 or a rate set out in Part III of the First Schedule to the Act of 1949, and

• (d) who, by reason of the death of his wife and of the fact that there were no children of his marriage in respect of whom a married pension was payable, was not in receipt of a married pension at the date of his death, and

• (e) who—

• (i) if the pension granted to him was a wound pension—had at the date of his death a child living (being the child of a marriage contracted before he received the wound in respect of which the pension was granted) who, in case he was an officer, was a son under the age of eighteen years or a daughter under the age of twenty-one years or, in case he was a soldier, was a son under the age of sixteen years or a daughter under the age of eighteen years, or

• (ii) if the pension granted to him was a disability pension—had at the date of his death a child living (being the child of a marriage contracted before his discharge from the forces) who, in case he was an officer, was a son under the age of eighteen years or a daughter under the age of twenty-one years or, in case he was a soldier, was a son under the age of sixteen years or a daughter under the age of eighteen years.

• (2) A deceased person to whom this section applies shall, for the purposes of the following provisions of the Act of 1927, namely, paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 14 and paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 15, be deemed to have been in receipt of a married pension at the date of his death.

• (3) Any allowances granted by virtue of the amendments effected by subsection (2) of this section shall not be paid from a date earlier than the operative date.

5 Restrictions on grant of widows' and children's allowances under sections 14 (2) and 15 of the Act of 1927.

5.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (2) of section 14 of the Act of 1927 or the said subsection as amended by section 4 of this Act, the Minister shall not, on or on account of the death of any person to whom, by virtue of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of the said subsection, the said subsection applies, grant under the said subsection to the widow or any child of such person any allowance or gratuity unless, in the case of the widow, she was married to such person before his discharge from the forces or, in the case of a child, the child was the child of a marriage contracted before his discharge from the forces.

• (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) of section 15 of the Act of 1927 or the said subsection as amended by section 3 of this Act, the Minister shall not, on or on account of the death of any person to whom, by virtue of paragraph (c) or (d) of the said subsection, the said subsection applies, grant under the said subsection to the widow or any child of such person any allowance or gratuity unless, in the case of the widow, she was married to such person before he received the wound from which he died or, in the case of a child, the child was the child of a marriage contracted before he received the said wound.

• (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (2) of section 15 of the Act of 1927 or the said subsection as amended by section 4 of this Act, the Minister shall not, on or on account of the death of any person to whom, by virtue of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of the said subsection, the said subsection applies, grant under the said subsection to the widow or any child of such person any allowance or gratuity unless, in the case of the widow, she was married to him before he received the wound from which he died or, in the case of a child, the child was the child of a marriage contracted before he received the said wound.

• (4) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section shall not be construed as affecting the operation of subsection (3) of section 40 of the Act of 1953.

6 Amendment of section 7 of the Act of 1943.

6.—For the purposes of section 7 of the Act of 1943, as amended by subsections (1), (2) and (3) of section 41 of the Act of 1953—

• (a) the expression “the appropriate annual sum” means, in respect of a person whose age is seventy years or more—

• (i) in relation to a single man or woman or a widower or widow with no children, £78,

• (ii) in relation to a married man or woman whose spouse is living but who has no children, £97. 10. 0.,

• (iii) in relation to a married man or woman, whose spouse is living and who has children, the sum of the following amounts, namely, £97. 10. 0. and £10. 8. 0. in respect of each child,

• (iv) in relation to a widow or widower who has children, the sum of the following amounts, namely, £78, and £10. 8. 0. in respect of each child;

• (b) the expression “the appropriate annual sum” means, in respect of a person whose age is less than seventy years,—

• (i) in relation to a single man or woman or a widow or widower with no children, £104,

• (ii) in relation to a married man or woman whose spouse is living but who has no children, £130,

• (iii) in relation to a married man or woman whose spouse is living and who has children, the sum of the following amounts, namely, £130 and £10. 8. 0. in respect of each child,

• (iv) in relation to a widow or widower who has children, the sum of the following amounts, namely, £104 and £10. 8. 0. in respect of each child.

7 Restrictions on grant of widows' and children's allowances under section 2 (1) of the Act of 1946.

7.—Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) of section 2 of the Act of 1946, the Minister shall not grant under the said subsection to the widow or child of a deceased person any allowance or gratuity unless, in the case of the widow, she was married to such person before he received the wound in respect of which there was granted to him the wound pension mentioned in the said subsection or, in the case of a child, the child was the child of a marriage contracted before he received the said wound.

8 Amendment of section 4 (1) of the Act of 1953.

8.—(1) There shall be inserted in subsection (1) of section 4 of the Act of 1953, the following two new paragraphs—

• “(aa) grant to such one permanently invalided son of such deceased person, as the Minister may direct, an annual allowance of £125, provided the permanent invalidism of such son existed before he attained the age of 18 years;

• (ab) grant to such one permanently invalided daughter of such deceased person, as the Minister may direct, provided such daughter is unmarried or a widow, an annual allowance of £125, while she remainsi unmarried or a widow (as the case may be) and provided the permanent invalidism of such daughter existed before she attained the age of 21 years.”

and Part II of the Act of 1953 and section 35 of the Act of 1957 shall, subject to subsection (2) of this section, have effect accordingly.

• (2)
• (a) In this subsection, “child's allowance” means an allowance under paragraph (aa) or (ab) (inserted by subsection (1) of this section) of subsection (1) of section 4 of the Act of 1953.

• (b) Where the permanent invalidism of an applicant for a child's allowance was the result of an act or omission for which another person was allegedly responsible and such other person has (whether with or without admission of liability) paid compensation therefor to the applicant, the Minister may, if in his opinion the circumstances so warrant, either refuse the application or, if he grants it, reduce the allowance by such amount as he thinks proper.

• (c) Where a child's allowance is granted—

• (i) the allowance shall commence on such date (not earlier than the operative date) as the Minister may determine,

• (ii) neither subsection (2) of section 7 of the Act of 1953 nor subsection (2) of section 35 of the Act of 1957 shall apply to the commencement of the allowance.

9 Amendment of section 6 of the Act of 1953.

9.—In subsection (1) of section 6 of the Act of 1953 (which prescribes a time-limit for making applications under Part II of the said Act) the references to the date of the passing of the Act of 1953 shall be construed as references to the operative date.

10 Amendment of section 39 (3) of the Act of 1953.

10.—Subsection (3) of section 39 of the Act of 1953, in so far as it provides that every application for a married pension under the enactments therein referred to shall be made not later than twelve months after the date of the passing of the Act of 1953, shall not apply to an application for a married pension under those enactments by a person who was not at any time within those twelve months in receipt of a wound or disability pension under the Acts.

11 Amendment of section 49 (1) of the Act of 1953.

11.—Subsection (1) of section 49 of the Act of 1953 (which relates to the finality of awards under section 12 of the Act of 1927), shall not apply to the refusal of an award of a pension or gratuity under the said section 12 in respect of a wound, except where the award was refused solely on the ground that the applicant therefor was not suffering from any disablement.

12 Restrictions on grant of further and married pensions.

12.—(1) Where a wound pension is granted under the Acts to a person who served in the forces and who is a married man for the purposes of whichever of the provisions of the Acts relates to the grant of such wound pension, then, a further pension or a married pension shall not be granted to him unless either—

• (a) the woman who is his wife at the date of the commencement of the wound pension was married to him before the date on which he received the wound in respect of which the wound pension is granted, or

• (b) he has a child living (being the child of a marriage contracted before he received the said wound) who, in case he was an officer, is a son under the age of eighteen years or a daughter under the age of twenty-one years or, in case he was a soldier, is a son under the age of sixteen years or a daughter under the age of eighteen years.

• (2) Where a disability pension is granted under the Acts to a person who served in the forces and who is a married man for the purposes of whichever of the provisions of the Acts relates to the grant of such disability pension, then, a further pension or a married pension shall not be granted to him unless either—

• (a) the woman who is his wife at the date of the commencement of the disability pension was married to him before the date of his discharge from the forces, or

• (b) he has a child living (being the child of a marriage contracted before the date of his discharge from the forces) who, in case he was an officer, is a son under the age of eighteen years or a daughter under the age of twenty-one years or, in case he was a soldier, is a son under the age of sixteen years or a daughter under the age of eighteen years.

• (3) Neither subsection (1) nor subsection (2) of this section shall be construed as affecting the operation of subsection (2) of section 39 of the Act of 1953.

13 Provisions in relation to adopted children.

13.—(1) In this section, “adopted” means adopted under the Adoption Act, 1952.

• (2) Where—

• (a) a former member of the forces, to whom a wound pension is payable, and his wife have adopted a child before the date on which he received the wound in respect of which the wound pension is payable, or

• (b) a former member of the forces, to whom a disability pension is payable, and his wife have adopted a child before the date of his discharge from the forces, that child shall, for the purposes of the provisions of the Acts (except the Act of 1932) and this Act relating to further or married pensions be considered as the child of the adopters born to them in lawful wedlock and not to be the child of any other person.

• (3) Where—

• (a) a deceased former member of the forces, to whom a wound pension was payable, and his wife adopted a child before the date on which he received the wound in respect of which the wound pension was payable, or

• (b) a deceased former member of the forces, to whom a disability pension was payable, and his wife adopted a child before the date of his discharge from the forces,

the child shall for the purposes of the provisions of the Acts (except the Act of 1932) and this Act relating to dependants' allowances be considered as the child of the adopters born to them in lawful wedlock and not to be the child of any other person.

• (4) Where a person, to whom a special allowance under section 7 of the Act of 1943 is granted, and his wife adopted a child before the date on which the special allowance commenced, such child shall for the purposes of the said section 7 be considered as the child of the adopters born to them in lawful wedlock and not to be the child of any other person.

• (5) Where—

• (a) a further or married pension is payable to any person who, solely by reason of his having an adopted child, is a married man for the purposes of the Acts, and

• (b) such adopted child is in receipt of an allowance which is payable out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas or out of the funds of a local authority or of any other body established by statute, and

• (c) such allowance is payable by reason of services rendered by the child's natural father or by his mother, being services which were remunerated out of such moneys or funds,

the following provisions shall have effect—

• (i) if the amount per annum of such allowance equals or exceeds the amount per annum of such pension, such pension shall not be payable while such allowance continues to be payable,

• (ii) if the amount per annum of such allowance is less than the amount per annum of such pension, the amount of such pension which shall be payable shall, while such allowance continues to be paid, be an amount equal to the difference between the amount per annum of such allowance and the amount per annum of such pension.

• (6) Where—

• (a) an adopted child to whom a dependant's allowance under the Acts (in this subsection referred to as the allowance under the Acts) is payable is in receipt of any ether continuing allowance (in this subsection referred to as the second allowance) which is payable out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas or out of the funds of a local authority or of any other body established by statute, and

• (b) the second allowance is payable by reason of services rendered by the child's natural father or by his mother, being services which were remunerated out of such moneys or funds,

the following provisions shall have effect—

• (i) if the amount per annum of the second allowance equals or exceeds the amount of the allowance under the Acts, the allowance under the Acts shall not be payable while the second allowance continues to be payable,

• (ii) if the amount per annum of the second allowance is less than the amount of the allowance under the Acts, the amount of the allowance under the Acts which shall be payable shall, while the second allowance continues to be paid, be an amount equal to the difference between the amount per annum of the second allowance and the amount of the allowance under the Acts.

14 Repeals.

14.—The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of the said Schedule.

15 Short title and collective citation.

15.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Army Pensions Act, 1959.

• (2) The Acts and this Act may be cited together as the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1959.

SCHEDULE. Enactments Repealed