§ 68. Mr. GINNELLasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether there is under the control of he Treasury any fund other than the Irish Constabulary Force Fund, made up of deductions from pay and pension, of which no annual statement of accounts is rendered to the subscribers; and if he will say why the Treasury allows concealment of the accounts of this fund which it does not allow in the case of any other fund under its control?
§ Mr. MASTERMANIn the case of other analogous funds Parliament has directed the publication of annual accounts, but in the case of the Constabulary Force Fund it has not done so. Statements of the income and expenditure of the reward branch are published annually for the information of the force, but it has not been thought necessary to publish an account of the benefit branch.
§ 84. Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether a member of the Irish Constabulary who marries without leave is entitled to draw pay during his service and pension on retirement; and, if so, will he say under what Act and Section the compulsory subscriptions paid by such a man to the Irish Constabulary Force Fund are on his death withheld from his widow and children?
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Mr. Birrell)The answer to the first paragraph of the question is in the affirmative. Widows and children of constables who marry without leave are deprived of benefit from the Constabulary Force Fund under the Lord Lieutenant's Regulations made in pursuance of Section 9 of the Act 29 and 30 Vic., Cap. 103, which have the force of a Statute.
§ 85. Mr. GINNELLasked whether the Chief Secretary himself has looked into the case of Constable Michael Ronaghan, of county Donegal; whether he will give a reference to the Statute and Section relied upon by those who advised that the difficulty of doing justice in that case was a legal difficulty; and when Constable Ronaghan may expect a result of the investigation of his case?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI have looked into this case myself and have also taken the opinion of the Irish Law Officers with 1434 regard to it. The constable was informed at the time when his offence of having married without leave was being dealt with that he must either leave the force or continue on the status of a single man. According to the advice which I have received he is excluded by Statute from the privileges allowed to married men as regards lodging allowance and pension or gratuity to widow or children. The principal Sections bearing on the case are Section 2 and Section 4 Sub-section (6) of the Constabulary and Police (Ireland) Act,1883.
§ Mr. GINNELLWill the right hon. Gentleman not do anything in this very hard case?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe hard case is that the constable married without leave. I am very sorry he should have done it, but Regulations exist dealing with such cases.
§ 86. Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the total number of subscribers to the Irish Constabulary Force Fund from 20th May, 1836, to the present time; the total amount of their contributions; the number of widows to whom payments from the fund have been made in that time, with the amount; the number of children to whom payments from the fund have been made in that time, with the amount; and the amount of the balance, plus the total interest on the fund, spent otherwise or now available?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Inspector-General informs me that there are no books or statistics in his office from which the details asked for in the question could be furnished. The balance of the benefit branch of the fund in the hands of the National Debt Commissioners on 5th instant was, Local Loans Stock £154,000, and Consols £219,648 10s. 9d.
§ Mr. GINNELLCan the right hon. Gentleman account for the fact that this fund which has always been under Government control cannot be explained at this particular point?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo, Sir. The books were only removed to the Inspector-General's Department comparatively recently. Although I dare say in some of the books the materials for answering this question may be found, they are not available to me.
§ 87. Mr. GINNELLasked, in view of the dissatisfaction of subscribers to the Irish 1435 Constabulary Force Fund with the administration of that fund and their specific complaints, whether, in addition to the actuarial investigation of the fund which those complaints have rendered necessary and which is now in progress, an impartial committee in whom the subscribers will have confidence will be appointed to investigate all the matters affecting the fund which do not fall within the strict province of an actuary?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI would ask the hon. Member to await the actuarial Report. Until it is received it is impossible to say whether any further inquiries will be necessary.
§ 88. Mr. GINNELLasked who the actuary is who is now investigating the Irish Constabulary Force Fund; whether he will receive evidence from the organisation formed by subscribers to promote the winding up and distribution of that fund; and when and in what way it is proposed to test and deal with the claims and allegations of those subscribers?
§ Mr. MASTERMANThe actuary investigating the Irish Constabulary Force Fund is actuary to the National Debt Commissioners. His investigation is purely actuarial and no purpose would be served by receiving evidence from an organisation of subscribers. The last part of the hon. Member's question should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary.
§ Mr. GINNELLWill the Chief Secretary answer if it is addressed to him?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI will.