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29 1935

WIDOWS AND ORPHANS PENSIONS ACT, 1935

PART VI.

Provisions in Relation to Claims and Appeals Against Awards and Decisions.

Establishment of panel of referees.

46. —(1) There shall be established and maintained for the purposes of this Act a panel of such number of referees as the Minister for Finance may from time to time appoint.

(2) Every member of the panel of referees shall be appointed by the Minister for Finance and shall hold office during the pleasure of the said Minister.

(3) Members of the panel of referees shall be persons serving in the Civil Service of the Government of Saorstát Eireann.

Investigation officers.

47. —(1) The Minister may, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, appoint such and so many persons as he thinks proper to be investigation officers for the purposes of this Act.

(2) In this Act the expression “investigation officer” means an investigation officer appointed under this section.

Duties and powers of investigation officers.

48. —(1) Every investigation officer shall investigate into and report to the Minister upon any claim for or in respect of a pension and any question arising on or in relation to a pension which may be referred to him by the Minister, and may, for the purpose of such investigation and report, require any claimant for a pension or any pensioner or any employer of such claimant or pensioner to furnish him with such information and to produce to him for inspection such documents relative to such claimant or pensioner as such investigation officer may reasonably require.

(2) If any person, being a claimant for a pension or a pensioner, or the employer of a claimant for a pension or a pensioner, fails to furnish to an investigation officer such information as he is required by this section to furnish to such officer or to produce to an investigation officer for inspection such documents as he is required by this section to produce to such officer, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

Deciding officers.

49. —(1) The Minister may appoint such and so many persons as he thinks proper to be deciding officers for the purposes of this Act, and every person so appointed shall hold office as such officer during the pleasure of the Minister.

(2) In this Act the expression “deciding officer” means a deciding officer appointed under this section.

Claims for pension and appeals.

50. —(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and in accordance with regulations made thereunder, every claim for or in respect of a pension shall be made to the Minister, and every question (other than any matter as to which the decision of the Minister is by this Act made final and conclusive, or any matter which by this Act is matter within the discretion of the Minister, or any matter which the Minister has power to determine under section 66 of the National Insurance Act, 1911, or under the said section as applied by this Act) arising thereon or in relation thereto shall be determined by a deciding officer.

(2) If any claimant is dissatisfied by the award or decision of a deciding officer in respect of any pension, the question shall, on application being made within the prescribed time, be referred to one or more referees selected by the Minister from the panel of referees.

(3) A deciding officer may, if he so thinks proper, instead of determining it himself, refer in the prescribed manner any question which falls to be determined by him under this section to one or more referees selected by the Minister from the panel of referees for the purpose.

(4) The decision of a referee or referees on any matter referred to him or them under this section shall be final and conclusive.

Revision of awards and decisions.

51. —(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a deciding officer may, at any time and from time to time, revise any award made or decision given under the immediately preceding section if it appears to him that the award or decision was erroneous either in view of new facts which have been brought to his notice since the date on which it was made or given or by reason of some mistake having been made with respect to the law or the facts, and the provisions of this Act as to reference shall apply to such revised award or decision in the same manner as they apply as respects an original award or decision.

(2) The provisions of the immediately preceding sub-section shall not apply—

(a) to an award or decision relating to a matter which has been referred to a referee or referees under the immediately preceding section;

(b) if the time for making an application to have the matter to which the award or decision relates referred to a referee or referees has not expired; or

(c) to an award made by a deciding officer for the purpose of giving effect to a decision given by a referee or referees,

unless, in a case falling within paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this sub-section, the person on whose application the reference was made or who is entitled to apply to have the matter referred, as the case may be, consents.

(3) If, in any case in which a decision has been given by a referee or referees with respect to the matter referred to him or them under the immediately preceding section, it appears to the Minister that the referee or referees might properly be asked to reconsider the decision in view either of new facts which have been brought to his notice since the date on which the decision was given or any apparent inconsistency between the decision and any other decision subsequently given by a referee or referees, the Minister may direct that the matter shall be referred to the referee or referees for reconsideration.

(4) A revised award made or a revised decision given by a deciding officer under this section shall take effect as follows:—

(a) where by virtue of the revised award or decision a pension will become payable to any person or a pension will be increased, it shall take effect—

(i) if made or given by reason of a new fact having been brought to the notice of a deciding officer, as from the date on which the application for revision was made,

(ii) in any other case, as from the date on which the original award or the original decision took effect;

(b) where by virtue of the revised award or decision a pension will cease to be payable or be reduced, it shall take effect as from the date on which notice of the revised award or decision is given to the person concerned.

(5) Where a decision is revised under this section by a referee or referees, the revised decision and any award made for the purpose of giving effect thereto shall have effect from such date as the referee or referees may determine.

(6) The foregoing provisions of this section with respect to the date as from which a revised award or revised decision is to take effect shall not be construed as affecting the operation of the provisions of this Act relating to repayment of pensions overpaid.

Powers of referees to take evidence on oath.

52. —A referee or referees shall on the hearing of any matter referred to him or them under this Act have power to take evidence on oath, and for that purpose such referee or, where there are two or more referees, any one of such referees may administer oaths to persons attending as witnesses at such hearing.