A man whose son died while serving with the Irish Defence Forces has discovered he is not eligible to continue receiving an allowance that had been granted to his late wife, reports RTE.
Private Michael McNeela was killed in 1989 in Lebanon by an Israeli-backed militia while on a peacekeeping mission. His father, John McNeela, has been seeking support since.
Following Michael’s death, his mother Kathleen received a dependents allowance, reports RTE.
After she passed away last year, Mr McNeela asked the State to have that allowance transferred to him, but his application was turned down.
In an interview on RTÉ’s This Week, Mr McNeela appealed for changes to the Army Pensions Act.
He explained that the €340 monthly payment “would make a difference to him”.
Mr McNeela praised the Defence Forces for their initial response to his son’s death, saying they “couldn’t have done enough” for his family, but he now feels “let down and disappointed” and urged Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris to intervene, reports RTE.
“Not many cases like this comes up. I think there is more the Tánaiste could do,” he said, reports RTE.
He also criticised the current military pension framework.
“I would ask the minister to do all he can as he’s the only man that can change it,” Mr McNeela said, reports RTE.
Sinn Féin TD Ruairà Ó Murchú weighed in, describing the case as “unfair and mean”.
“We require the Government to step up to the mark,” he said, insisting the families of fallen soldiers deserve more support, reports RTE.
“I would much prefer that this was dealt with quietly, that there wasn’t a need to do it in the public domain. But unfortunately, that is not the case. We’ve all seen pension anomalies before. We’re all open to some sort of interim solution, and there is a requirement to change the legislation”, reports RTE.
A Department of Defence statement said it “treats any case involving a deceased soldier with the utmost of sensitivity”.
“In this specific case, under the current law, the Army Pensions Act, there is no provision to transfer a Dependants Allowance to another person, at any stage. The Secretary General of the Department of Defence will this week raise this case with her colleagues in the Department of Social Protection to see what other supports may be available to Mr McNeela,” reports RTE.
“Like all families of deceased soldiers, we will do all we can to support them,” it said, reports RTE.
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