§ Mr. O'LEARYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can state the grounds on which William Swanton, of Dromkeal, Ballydehob, county Cork, has been deprived of an old age pension of 4s. a week, which he has been in receipt of for a number of years, and the grounds on which his wife has been refused a pension notwithstanding that the local pension 58W committee and the local pension officer, after inquiring on the spot into the particular circumstances of the case, recommended her for a pension of 2s. a week; and whether he will take steps for the revision of these cases, in order that fair treatment may be given in both?
§ Mr. DUKEWilliam Swanton was granted a pension of 4s. a week in March, 1913. The claim of his wife for a pension was appealed against by the pension officer on the ground of means. In dealing with this appeal, the question of William Swanton's right to a pension came before the Local Government Board for the first time, and they disallowed his pension and decided that his wife was not entitled to a pension, on the ground that the privileges enjoyed by them are worth more than £31 10s. a year each.