§ Mr. JOHN REDMONDasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to the fact that the pension officers in Ireland have refused to accept returns obtained by the United Irish League in Dublin from the Record Office as proof of age of applicants for old age pensions in Ireland; whether there is any necessity for the applicant to obtain copies of the record of age personally; and whether the practice of the pension officers has inflicted hardship in Ireland?
§ Mr. LLOYD-GEORGEUnder the statutory regulations the investigation of the evidence of claimants for old age pensions devolves on the pension officer, and he must be satisfied before forwarding a claim to the pension committee that the applicant is over 70. He cannot therefore accept the evidence of age produced by the United Irish League without first satisfying himself that it is correct, and this he does by reference to the Census Office. If arrangements could be made for the Census Office to give to the United Irish League some form of certificate without additional fee in cases of successful search by them, such certificate could be accepted without further investigation. There is no necessity for the claimant to an1150W old age pension to obtain evidence of age from the Census Office. This, if desired, will always be undertaken by the pension officer. I am not aware that any hardship has been inflicted on a pensioner by reason of the action of the pension officers in this matter.