Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. The Army Pensions Acts provide for the grant of pensions and gratuities to former members of the primary Defence Forces in respect of permanent disablement due to a wound or injury attributable to military service, whether at home or abroad, or due to disease attributable to, or aggravated by, overseas service with the United Nations. Section 13(2) of the Army Pensions Act,1923, as amended, provides that:

Any compensation which may be received from or on behalf of the person alleged to be responsible for the act which caused the wounding [...] may be taken into consideration in fixing the amount of any pension, allowance or gratuity which might be awarded under this Act to or in respect of such person. If such compensation is received after the award of any such pension or allowance, the Minister may review the award and, having regard to the amount of such compensation, either terminate or reduce the amount thereof.

The underlying objective of section 13(2) is to prevent double compensation in respect of the same disablement. Compensation of the kind in question would usually result from a civil action for damages against the Department of Defence but compensation received from any other source is not excluded. The provisions do not apply to disability pension cases related solely to disablement due to disease attributable to or aggravated by overseas service with the UN. They apply only to wound pension cases involving a wound or injury or where disease is secondary to the wound or injury.

There are currently 1,011 disability pensions of all categories in payment, of which 275 relating to injury or wound pensions have had a reduction under section 13(2) applied. There have been a number of key cases both at Supreme Court and High Court levels involving section 13(2) and the procedures in place relating to individual cases take account of these judgments. The courts, in various judgments, have upheld the Minister’s statutory right to take into consideration that part of the damages which can properly be regarded as general damages or that part which can properly be regarded as referable to loss of earnings, as he or she considers proper. The reduction of these pensions-----

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