§ Mr. SCANLANasked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state whether instructions have been issued to the pension officers in Ireland to lodge objections to the claims of all applicants for old age pensions whose births are not recorded in the Census returns of 1841 or 1851; whether, if no such instructions have been issued, he can explain how it has come to be the invariable practice of the pension officers in Ireland to lodge objections to all claims not supported by evidence from the Census returns, even in cases where the claimants bring in proof of their age the sworn testimony of people known to be themselves over seventy years of age; and whether, in view of the dissatisfaction existing in Ireland on this subject, he will lay upon the Table copies of the instructions issued to pension officers in Ireland?
§ Mr. ILLINGWORTHPension officers, in Ireland have not been instructed to lodge an appeal to the Local Government Board in all cases where a pension is granted by the local pension committee to claimants whose names cannot be found in the Census records of 1841 or 1851. The officers' instructions are, on the contrary, that they need not lodge an appeal if they are themselves satisfied that the claimant has attained statutory age. I am not aware, nor can I admit, that the invariable practice of pension officers in Ireland has come to be as stated in the second part of the question.
§ Mr. SCANLANasked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will provide in the proposed Bill to amend the Old Age Pensions Act for removing the disqualification attaching to pensioners convicted for trifling offences or contraventions of the law by courts of summary jurisdiction and sentenced to short terms of detention or imprisonment, and for cases of disqualification due to temporary absence from Great Britain and Ireland?
§ Mr. ILLINGWORTHThe suggestions made in the question are receiving careful consideration.
§ Mr. SCANLANasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, in the cases of applications for old age pensions in which the objection is taken by the pension officers that the applicant's name does not 17 appear in the Census of 1841, the Local Government Board invariably decide against the applicants and in favour of the Treasury; whether there have been any cases, and, if so, how many, since the beginning of 1910, in which the Board had confirmed the award of pensions by the local pension committees where the applicant's name is not found in the Census returns; and if he will state by what authority in the Pension Act, or otherwise, the Local Government Board disregard the evidence of witnesses known to be over seventy years of age who testify to the age qualification of applicants in certain cases where the Census returns yield no evidence?
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Mr. Birrell)It is not a fact that the Local Government Board invariably decide against applicants for old age pensions whose names do not appear in the Census returns of 1841. There have been many cases in which the Board have confirmed the award of pensions in such circumstances, but they could only ascertain the exact number by means of a search involving considerable time and trouble. The Board do not, as alleged, disregard the evidence of witnesses who testify to the age of claimants. All evidence is duly considered, but the Board cannot bind themselves to accept as accurate or adequate all testimony offered to them.