Sir, - I read with interest the letters from Col (Ret'd)) James Fagan (December 7th) and Coy Sgt (Ret'd) George Keenan (December 14th) with reference to the non-payment of the Military Service Allowance element to Defence Force Pensioners who retired before August 1st 1990. I am a member of the executive council of the Company of Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women and the person who deals with pension matters on behalf of the members of that organisation. I did not retire from the Army until 1993 and so have the benefit of that element in my pension after more than 40 years' service.
I have been making a case on this matter to politicians of all parties for two years now, but to no avail. I personally handed a letter outlining the situation to Mr Michael Smith, Minister for Defence, in September 2000, when he visited the Soldiers' Home in Dublin. I received an acknowledgment in November 2000 stating: "Enquiries are being made in relation to these matters and a further letter will issue to you as soon as possible."
Since then I have written again to the same Minister but have got neither an acknowledgment nor a reply to either of my letters. I feel that such an attitude towards the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women and the pensioners that we represent leaves a lot to be desired of a Minister for Defence. I do not think that this is the way he should regard the ex-members of the Defence Forces whom he praises so often on occasions such as the recent magnificent stand-down parade in Dublin of the Lebanon (UNIFIL) operation.
Members of the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women were very honoured to have been invited to march with their serving colleagues in that parade (and to do so). The Minister could show his appreciation of ex-soldiers in a more tangible way by implementing the provisions of the report of the Commission on Remuneration and Conditions of Service in the Defence Forces (Gleeson Commission) which stated (10.8.2.): "the Commission considers that military service allowance is an integral part of military pay and, accordingly, recommends that the pension schemes be amended so as to provide for the reckoning of military service allowance in calculating benefits."
Surely the Minister could treat pensioners who retired prior to August 1st 1990 in the same way as those who retired subsequently. - Yours, etc.,
Danny Flood (Lt-Col, ret'd), Derdimus, Kilkenny.