Army Pensions Act, 1927

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Allowances and gratuities to dependants in certain cases.

14.—(1) The Minister may, on or on account of the death of any person to whom this sub-section applies, do either but not both of the following things, that is to say:—

(i) grant to such one or more as the Minister shall determine of the dependants mentioned in the appropriate Part of the Fifth Schedule to this Act of such person a gratuity of such amount as the Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determine, or

(ii) grant to the widow and children of such person the several allowances and gratuities specified in the appropriate Part of the Sixth Schedule to this Act in respect of widows and children.

This sub-section applies to—

(a) every person who died before the 1st day of October, 1924 while serving in the forces and whose death was due solely to disease attributable to service in the forces during the period (in this sub-section called “the said period”) which commenced on the 1st day of April, 1922 and ended on the 30th day of September, 1924, and

(b) every person who, having served in the forces during the said period and been discharged therefrom before the 1st day of October, 1924, dies (whether before or after the passing of this Act) within four years after such discharge and so dies solely from disease attributable to service in the forces during the said period, and

(c) every person who, not having served in the forces, died before the 11th day of July, 1925, and is certified by the Minister to have been a member of the Irish Volunteers or of the Irish Citizen Army and whose death was due solely to disease attributable to his military service in the Irish Volunteers or the Irish Citizen Army (as the case may be), and

(d) every person who is certified by the Minister to have been a member of the Irish Volunteers or of the Irish Citizen Army and, having served in the forces, either died before the 1st day of October, 1924 while so serving or was discharged from the forces before the 1st day of October, 1924 and died (whether before or after the passing of this Act) within four years after such discharge and in any case so died solely from disease attributable to military service in the Irish Volunteers or the Irish Citizen Army (as the case may be) or to such military service and service in the forces during the said period, and

(e) every person who, having been immediately before his death in receipt of a disability pension granted to him under this Act in accordance with the scale of pensions contained in the Second Schedule to this Act, dies solely from the disease in respect of which such pension was granted.

(2) The Minister may, on or on account of the death of any person to whom this sub-section applies, do either but not both of the following things, that is to say:—

(i) grant to such one or more as the Minister shall determine of the widow and children of such person a gratuity of such amount as the Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determine, or

(ii) grant to the widow and children of such person the several allowances and gratuities specified in the appropriate Part of the Seventh Schedule to this Act in respect of widows and children.

This sub-section applies to—

(a) every person who dies (whether before or after the passing of this Act) on or after the 1st day of October, 1924 while serving in the forces and whose death is due solely to disease attributable to service in the forces during the period (in this sub-section called “the said period”) which commenced on the 1st day of April, 1922 and ended on the 30th day of September, 1924, and

(b) every person who, having served in the forces during the said period, is discharged therefrom on or after the 1st day of October, 1924 (whether before or after the passing of this Act) and dies within four years after such discharge and so dies solely from disease attributable to service in the forces during the said period, and

(c) every person who is certified by the Minister to have been a member of the Irish Volunteers or of the Irish Citizen Army and, having served in the forces during the said period, either dies on or after the 1st day of October, 1924 (whether before or after the passing of this Act) while so serving or is discharged from the forces on or after the 1st day of October, 1924 (whether before or after the passing of this Act) and dies within four years after such discharge and, in any case, so dies solely from disease attributable to military service in the Irish Volunteers or the Irish Citizen Army (as the case may be) or to such military service and service in the forces during the said period, and

(d) every person who, having been immediately before his death in receipt of a disability pension granted to him under this Act in accordance with the scale of pensions contained in the Third Schedule to this Act and also of a married pension payable to him under this Act, dies solely from the disease in respect of which such disability pension was granted.

(3) The gratuity or the total amount of the gratuities (as the case may be) granted on or on account of the death of any person to dependants of that person under sub-section (1) of this section or to the widow and children of that person under sub-section (2) of this section shall not exceed the sum of three hundred pounds.

(4) Any gratuity granted under this section may, if the Minister so thinks proper, be paid in instalments of such amounts and at such times as the Minister, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, shall consider expedient.

(5) No allowance or gratuity shall be granted under this section on or on account of the death of any person whose death was or is due to any serious negligence or misconduct on his part.

(6) No allowance or gratuity shall be granted under sub-section (2) of this section to the widow or child of any person who was not, if an officer, a married man for the purposes of this Act or, if a soldier, in receipt of marriage allowance as a married soldier at the following time, that is to say, if he died while serving in the forces, at the time of his death or, if he died after having been discharged from the forces, immediately before such discharge.

(7) For the purpose of the application of the Fifth and Sixth Schedules to this Act in respect of a person who is certified under sub-section (1) of this section to have been a member of the Irish Volunteers or of the Irish Citizen Army and who did not serve in the forces, the Minister shall determine, having regard to the position actually held by such person in the Irish Volunteers or the Irish Citizen Army (as the case may be) whether such person was an officer or a soldier, and such determination shall be final and conclusive for the purpose aforesaid.

(8) Every allowance granted under this section on account of the death of a person who died before the 1st day of April, 1926, shall commence on that date, and every allowance granted under this section on or on account of the death of a person who dies on or after the 1st day of April, 1926 (whether before or after the passing of this Act) shall commence on the day after the day on which such person so dies.

(9) A person's death shall be deemed to be due solely to disease within the meaning of this section notwithstanding that such death was in part due to or was hastened or contributed to by a wound received by such person during and attributable to service in the like forces or body (though not necessarily in the same period) as the service to which such disease is attributable.