S.I. No. 3/1928 - Army Pensions (Expenses and Allowances) Regulations, 1928.

STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS. 1928. No. 3.

ARMY PENSIONS (EXPENSES AND ALLOWANCES) REGULATIONS, 1928.

WHEREAS it is enacted by sub-section (1) of section 27 of the Army Pensions Act, 1927 (No. 12 of 1927) that the Minister for Defence may by order make regulations in regard to any matter or thing referred to in that Act as prescribed or as being or to be prescribed by regulations made under that Act, but where such regulations are referred to in that Act as being or to be made with the consent of the Minister for Finance the same shall not be made without such consent.

AND WHEREAS it is enacted by sub-section (2) of section 21 of the said Act that the amounts of the payments which may be made for travelling expenses and for subsistence allowance under sub-section (1) of the said section and the circumstances in which and conditions under which such payments may be made shall be prescribed by regulations made under the said Act with the consent of the Minister for Finance,

AND WHEREAS it is enacted by sub-section (6) of section 25 of the said Act that the Minister for Defence may, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, and in accordance with regulations made under the said Act with the consent of the Minister for Finance, defray out of moneys to be provided by the Oireachtas the funeral expenses of the persons therein mentioned.

NOW, the Minister for Defence, with the consent of the Minister for Finance testified by his signature to these Regulations, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Army Pensions Act, 1927 (No. 12 of 1927) and of every and any other power him in this behalf enabling doth by this order make the following Regulations, that is to say :—

1. These regulations may be cited as the Army Pensions (Expenses and Allowances) Regulations, 1927.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1923 (No. 46 of 1923) applies to the interpretation of these Regulations in like manner as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas.

3. In these Regulations—

the expression " the Principal Act " means the Army Pensions Act, 1923 (No. 26 of 1923),

the expression " the Act of 1927 " means the Army Pensions Act, 1927 (No. 12 of 1927),

the expression " the Minister " means the Minister for Defence, and

the expression " the Board " means the Army Pensions Board.

4.—(1) The amounts of the payments for travelling expenses which may be made by the Minister out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to applicants for pensions, allowances, or gratuities under the Principal Act as amended by the Act of 1927 or under the Act of 1927 when attending in the city or county of Dublin for medical examination by direction of the Board and to persons attending in the city or county of Dublin as witnesses before the Board pursuant to a summons by the Board and the circumstances in which and conditions under which such payments may be made shall be as follows—

(a) such applicants and witnesses will as a general rule be expected to travel by train, tram or omnibus whenever available and by whichever of the said means of public transport is the cheapest,

(b) where public transport is available payments may be made as follows, that is to say—

(i) in the case of travel by rail—

Applicants—third class return fare

Witnesses

professional—first class return fare

non-professional—third class return fare

(ii) in the case of travel by tram or omnibus—

applicants and witnesses—Fares paid

(c) where public conveyance is not available for the whole or any part of a journey which an applicant or witness is obliged to travel, or the Minister considers that the circumstances of the case were such as to warrant the non-user of public conveyance reasonable travelling expenses may be allowed.

Every claim under this head in respect of hired transport where the amount claimed exceeds 5s. shall be supported by vouchers.

5.—(1) The amounts of the payments for subsistence allowance which may be made by the Minister out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to applicants for pensions, allowances, or gratuities under the Principal Act as amended by the Act of 1927 or under the Act of 1927 when attending in the city or county of Dublin for medical examination by direction of the Board and to persons attending in the city or county of Dublin as witnesses before the Board pursuant to a summons by the Board and the circumstances in which and the conditions under which such payments may be made shall be as follows :—

(a) where the period of necessary absence from home is eight hours or more and less than sixteen hours subsistence allowance may be paid at the following rates—

(b) where the period of necessary absence from home is sixteen hours or more and less than twenty-four hours subsistence allowance may be paid at the following rates—

(c) where the period of necessary absence from home is twenty-four hours or more subsistence allowance may be paid at the following rates for each completed period of twenty-four hours :—

together with, in the case of any broken time (not being less than eight hours) over and above twenty-four hours or a multiple thereof, extra subsistence allowance for such broken time in accordance with whichever of the scales (a) and (b) is appropriate.

(2) Where in any particular case an applicant is by direction of the Board detained in a Military Hospital for the purpose of undergoing a medical examination there by direction of the Board, and subsistence allowance could be paid under the foregoing sub-paragraph, so much of such subsistence allowance as bears to the whole of such subsistence allowance the same proportion as the period of such detention bears to the entire period in respect of which such subsistence allowance was payable, shall be appropriated towards the maintenance of such applicant in such Military Hospital during such detention.

6. The Minister may, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, defray out of moneys to be provided by the Oireachtas the funeral expenses of any person to whom a pension is granted (whether before or after the 30th day of April, 1927) under the Principal Act or under the Principal Act as amended by the Act of 1927 or under the Act of 1927 who dies in any hospital, nursing home, or like institution while detained therein by direction of the Minister for the purpose of undergoing any medical examination or treatment or surgical operation in accordance with the following provisions that is to say,

(a) where the body is taken charge of by a relative and the burial undertaken by such relative the following charges may be defrayed :—

(i) the reasonable cost of transportation of the body from the place of death either to a Church and thence to a relative's house or to a relative's house direct, and

(ii) other incidental expenses based on the ordinary charges of an undertaker within a limit of ten pounds, subject to the provision that where the Minister provides a coffin the said limit shall be reduced by an amount equal to the cost of such coffin, or

(b) where the body is not taken charge of by a relative, the following charges may be defrayed,

(i) the reasonable cost of transportation of the body from the place of death either to a Church and thence to the place of burial or to the place of burial direct,

(ii) the cost of a coffin, grave space, opening of grave, fee to the sexton, and offering to the officiating clergyman, and

(iii) the cost of one mourning coach for relatives.

Sealed with the official seal of the

Minister for Defence this 28th day of January, 1928.

PEADAR MATHGHAMHNA.

Secretary, Department of Defence.

I consent to the foregoing Regulations

EARNAN DE BLAGHD,

Minister for Finance.