Written answers

Tuesday, 28 March 2017

Photo of Seán FlemingSeán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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634. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if the State will officially recognise the involvement of a person (details supplied) in actions in Easter Week 1916; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14949/17]

Photo of Paul KehoePaul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The person in question made an application for a Certificate of Military Service under the Military Service Pensions Act 1924, in relation to his service from 1 April 1916 to 30 June 1922. His application was assessed by the Board of Assessors (a Judge and two senior Old IRA officers) which was constituted under that Act to assess such applications and service. Although he had claimed for Easter 1916 service, the Board did not award him service for pension purposes in respect of this period. He was, however, awarded a Certificate of Military Service for the period 1 April 1920 to 30 September 1923 (including service in the National Army).

Section 3(6) of the Military Service Pensions Act 1924 provided that the Board of Assessors could at any time re-open their findings at the request of the Minister on the ground that evidence not previously available was now available. The person in question did subsequently appeal to the then Minister for Defence in 1928 to have his case re-opened but his appeal was unsuccessful.

The power given to the Board of Assessors to reopen findings was removed by the Military Services Pensions Act 1949. There is now no statutory provision to re-open the findings of the Board. The process by which applications and petitions or appeals under the Military Service Pensions Acts were made, investigated and verified was wound up in 1958 and there is no statutory or other mechanism available now by which service can be investigated or verified.

The 1916 Medal was awarded to persons who were awarded 1916 service under the Military Service Pensions Acts, or to those who did not apply for a pension but who satisfied the Minister that they would have been awarded 1916 service if they had applied under the Acts.

There are witness statements held in the Military Archives which are stated to be relevant to this case. I understand these are Witness Statements from the Bureau of Military History. Decisions regarding the award of medals/pensions are dependent on verification and corroborative evidence of the service involved. Unfortunately, the ‘Witness Statements’ which were collected from 1947-1957, were not verified and tested as part of a formal process under the relevant Acts, and therefore they cannot be accepted as evidence of service.

I should however say that the relevant pension files, which include material relating to his claimed activities in relation to Easter Week 1916, are now publicly available online on the Military Archives website (). His activities in Easter Week 1916, while not reaching the threshold for a pension and thus a 1916 medal, are a matter of public record. The Service Medal (1917-1921), with bar, was awarded to the person in question in respect of his service during the 1917-1921 period.

Unfortunately, I am not in a position to do anything further regarding the issue of a 1916 Medal but I hope this helps to clarify matters.

In 2016 the State undertook a comprehensive programme of commemorations to mark the centenary year of the 1916 Easter Rising. The Government was committed to ensuring that 2016 would be a year of rich and diverse activities with the focus on remembering and honouring those who took part in the 1916 Rising.  Throughout 2016 some 45 official events commemorated their contribution and bravery.

As part of the planning process for these events my Department was assigned responsibility for registering and maintaining the list of relatives of those who took part in the 1916 events who had expressed an interest in attending events to mark the centenary.

I can confirm that the relatives of the person whose details were supplied by the Deputy did register and were invited to attend events in 2016.

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