Mr. NUGENTasked the Under-Secretary of State for War if he is aware that the dependants of officials in Government Departments in Ireland who volunteered for service in the Army are being deprived of the increased allowances recently made to the dependants of soldiers; that a sum corresponding to the increase recently made in separation allowances is deducted from the salary received from the Department where the men were formerly employed; and, although it has recently been decided that the cost of allotment made by a soldier from his pay was to be borne by the State, the wives and children of such officials serving in the Army are precluded from benefiting by this concession as a corresponding reduction is made from their departmental salary; and whether lie will take steps to see that these officials who had joined the Army voluntarily will not be deprived of the benefits accruing to other soldiers?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWThe answer to the first three parts of the question is in the affirmative, but I need scarcely say that there is no question of giving less favourable treatment in this respect to officials from Irish Government Departments than to others. The deduction referred to is in fact made from the civil salaries of all Civil servants serving with His Majesty's Forces and entitled to receive a portion of their civil salary under the terms of the various Treasury Circulars on the subject, and is in accordance with the principle which has been followed throughout, that the full amount of separation allowance shall be deducted in every case. I am not prepared to reconsider this decision, the general effect of which is merely to reduce the disparity of treatment between Civil servants serving with the forces and other soldiers.
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