§ 35. Captain CRAIGasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he is aware that Charles W. McGuirc, ex-sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary, was awarded £1,700 compensation for injuries received in an ambush in 1921 while on patrol in the town of Letterkenny; whether £l,350 of this has been paid, and that Sergeant McGuire has been informed that £80 or £90 will be deducted from the balance for medical expenses; and whether he will see that, as the injuries from which Sergeant McGuire suffered were received in the exercise of his duty, the medical expenses rendered necessary by these injuries shall be borne by the Crown, and that no portion of the sum awarded to Sergeant McGuire shall be deducted?
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Sir Hamar Greenwood)The question of the deduction of medical and nursing expenses in cases of this nature is under consideration. If the hon. and gallant Member will repeat his question at a later date I hope to be able to give him a definite reply.
§ Captain CRAIGOn what principle of justice can a policeman or a soldier, in the exercise of his duty, be called upon to pay medical expenses out of his own pocket?
§ Sir H. GREENWOODI quite agree, if the facts are as stated, with the hon. and gallant Gentleman's conclusion, but as this is a grant of public money, I hope the hon. and gallant Member will give me the opportunity of proceeding through the usual channels.
§ Captain CRAIGSurely this must have happened in hundreds of cases, and lots of these people must have been injured in cases of this kind.