Irish Police (Naval and Military Service) Act 1915

1915 CHAPTER 32

An Act to authorise the grant of certain pensions and other allowances in respect of Members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan Police who are Reservists or join the Naval or Military Forces and for other purposes incidental thereto.

[16th March 1915]

Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Pensions and allowances in respect of members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan Police who are reservists or join the naval or military forces.

(1) Where a constable of the Royal Irish Constabulary or Dublin Metropolitan Police belongs to the Naval Reserves or the Army Reserve and has, in pursuance of any Royal Proclamation, been called out, in the case of a constable belonging to the Naval Reserves, for service during war or any emergency, of in the case of a constable belonging to the Army Reserve, on permanent service, the police authority may, with the approval of the Treasury, grant to or for the benefit of his wife and children or any of them, or in the case of an unmarried constable to or for the benefit of any person whom he is legally liable to maintain and towards whose support he has regularly contributed, an allowance of such amount and subject to such conditions and restrictions as they think equitable :

Provided that—

(a) any such allowance shall be granted for a limited period not exceeding one year and may be renewed for a further period, but shall not be continued after the police authority have received notice that the constable has ceased to be employed on naval or military service ;

(b) the aggregate amount of the weekly allowance granted in respect of a married constable together with the weekly amount of any separation or other allowance required to be paid out of naval or military funds in pursuance of any Royal Warrant and the weekly amount of any compulsory deductions from the constable's pay as a seaman or soldier shall not exceed the total weekly amount he was receiving from police funds on being called out;

(c) the allowance granted in respect of an unmarried constable shall not exceed in the aggregate eight shillings a week.

(2) If the constable dies or is disabled whilst employed on naval or military service, the police authority may, with the approval of the Treasury, grant to his widow and children or to him pensions and allowances equal to one-half the amount payable out of naval or military funds in pursuance of any Royal Warrant, so, however, that the total amount receivable from the police authority when added to the amount payable from such funds as aforesaid shall not in any case exceed the maximum amount which could have been granted under the [46 & 47 Vict. c. 14.] Constabulary and Police (Ireland) Act, 1883, as amended by any subsequent enactment, if the death or disablement had been occasioned by an injury received by the constable, without his own default, in the execution of his duty as a constable and not accidentally.

(3) If, with the consent of the police authority, any officer or constable of the Royal Irish Constabulary or any constable of the Dublin Metropolitan Police for the purposes of the present war enters, re-enters, enlists, re-enlists or receives a commission in any of His Majesty's naval or military forces, subsection (2) of section five of the Constabulary and Police (Ireland) Act, 1883, subsections (1) and (2) of section one of the [4 & 5 Geo. 5. c. 84.] Irish Police Constables (Naval and Military Service) Act, 1914, and the foregoing provisions of this section shall, subject to the necessary adaptations, apply to him in like manner as they apply to a constable belonging to the Naval Reserves or Army Reserve who has been called out for service during war or. any emergency or on permanent service, as the case may be, with the modification that in the application of the foregoing provisions of this section to an officer of the Royal Irish Constabulary, the [37 & 38 Vict. c. 80.] Constabulary (Ireland) Act, 1874, shall be substituted for the Constabulary and Police (Ireland) Act, 1883, and a sum fixed by the Treasury shall be substituted for eight shillings.

(4) This section applies in the case of officers and constables called out entering, re-entering, enlisting, re-enlisting, or receiving commissions, whether before or after the passing of this Act, and any pension, allowance, or gratuity granted, with the approval of the Treasury, to or in respect of any such officer or constable, in anticipation of the passing of this Act is hereby confirmed and shall be deemed to have been granted under or in pursuance of this Act.

(5) Any pensions, allowances, or gratuities, granted under or in pursuance of this Act shall, subject to the provisions of the [4 & 5 Geo. 5. c. 90.] Government of Ireland Act, 1914, be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

(6) In this section the expression " police authority " means as respects the Royal Irish Constabulary, the Inspector-General, and as respects the Dublin Metropolitan Police, the Chief Commissioner.

(7) Subsection (3) of section one of the Irish Police Constables (Naval and Military Service) Act, 1914, is hereby repealed.

2 Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Irish Police (Naval and Military Service) Act, 1915.