Indemnity Act, 1924

Assessment and payment of compensation in certain cases.

5.—(1) An Executive Minister may refer to the committee established under this Act any claim made not later than three months after the passing of this Act by a person claiming to have suffered any direct loss or damage necessarily arising from interference with his property after the 21st day of January, 1919, and before the 28th day of June, 1922, by—

(a) any person holding office under the First Dáil Eireann or the Second Dáil Eireann, or

(b) any person employed in any military or civil service established or maintained by or under the authority of the First Dáil Eireann or the Second Dáil Eireann,

in the proper exercise or execution of any power, authority, or duty vested in or imposed on him by virtue of such office or employment.

(2) The said committee shall inquire into all claims referred to them pursuant to this section and shall report to the Executive Minister whether the person making the claim has suffered any such direct loss or damage as is mentioned in the foregoing sub-section, and the compensation (if any) which, on the principles laid down in this section, might reasonably be paid to such person in respect of such loss or damage.

(3) In assessing the compensation pursuant to the foregoing sub-section the committee—

(a) shall not take into consideration any loss or damage—

(i) arising from the billeting or quartering of troops, or

(ii) arising from sums paid or subscribed to any national or local levy, requisition, or loan, or

(iii) arising from any fines imposed by any tribunal deriving authority directly or indirectly from the First Dáil Eireann or the Second Dáil Eireann, or

(iv) due to or arising through the enforcement of any order or regulation of general or local application made by, or directly or indirectly under the authority of, the First Dáil Eireann or the Second Dáil Eireann, or

(v) due simply and solely to the existence of a state of war, or

(vi) founded on the loss of mere pleasure or amenity;

(b) the committee shall take into consideration any compensation or recoupment received in respect of the loss or damage under any insurance, or from any government, or under a decree or order of any court or other tribunal, or from any general fund whether public or private;

(c) the committee shall only recommend the payment of compensation in cases where special or continuing hardship has resulted from the loss or damage.

(4) Where the said committee reports that compensation might reasonably be paid to a person in respect of any such direct loss or damage as aforesaid, the Minister for Finance may, out of moneys to be provided by the Oireachtas, pay to such person as compensation for such loss or damage such sum as the Minister for Finance thinks proper but not exceeding the sum mentioned in the report of the committee.