§ Mr. GREENEasked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that Major C. M. Berington, late temporary cadet, Auxiliary Division, Royal Irish Constabulary, was granted by Sir William Maloney, late Chief Justice of Ireland, in July, 1921, £4,200 as compensation for wounds received; that Sir William Maloney adjourned the hearing for 24 hours in order to ascertain the amount of disability pension which Major Bering-ton would receive, stating that he would have to take such pension into consideration when assessing the amount of compensation; that Sir William Maloney, in granting the said £4,200, took into consideration the fact that Major Berington would receive £195 per annum; that Major Berington was awarded by a Royal Irish Constabulary board, at Phœnix Park, Dublin, in November, 1921, a total disability' pension of £195 per annum and received the same until 30th July, 1924, when it was reduced to £63 7s. 6d., no seasons being given; that inquiries made by Major Berington at a later date were answered by a statement that the reduction was due to his disability having decreased and that the said compensation of £4,200 had to be taken into account; that Major Berington has been before no medical board since the original one and has not been medically examined other than by the Local Government medical authority, Malvern, whose consistent report is, No improvement, and the Treasury medical referee, who did not fully examine the wound; whether, under the circumstances, Major Berington can have a further medical exaxmination to decide his degree of disability; and will he state whether it is the intention of the Department that the amount of compensation, which was reduced on account of the amount of the pension, should not be increased upon the amount of the pension being reduced?
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§ Sir W. JOYNSON-HICKSIn October, 1921, Major Berington was granted a disability pension at the rate of £195 per annum for a period of four months, and thereafter at the rate of £146 5s. per annum, subject to review at the expiration of one year from the date of his discharge. In October, 1922, the award was increased to the original rate, and after periodical review it was reduced to £63 7s. 6d. as from the 1st July, 1924. In fixing this sum regard was had—in accordance with the provisions of the Pensions Order—both to the compensation paid to Major Berington and to the degree of his impairment. The decision as to the degree of impairment was based upon careful consideration of all the medical evidence, including a detailed report from the Treasury medical referee. This report was made as the result of a thorough examination, and there is no warrant for the statement that the medical referee did not fully examine the wound. The medical referee's report left no doubt as to the degree of Major Berington's disability, and there is no case for further examination until the end of the present year, when his pension will again come under review. If the suggestion in the first part of the question is that the Court, in assessing the compensation due to Major Berington, was under the impression that he would be entitled for the remainder of his life to a pension of £195 a year, I can only say that no ground for such an assumption is to be found in any official statement as to the pension rights of ex-Royal Irish Constabulary officers, and that the Pensions Order of 1922 expressly provides for reassessment of disability pensions. I have, of course, no power to increase the compensation awarded to Major Berington under the Criminal Injury Acts. Major Berington is receiving the maximum pension which it is possible to award, having regard to the rules governing the grant of Royal Irish Constabulary pensions.