asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he is aware that Mrs. Brigid McElligott, Serial No. 99, Droichead Nua Labour Exchange Office, who has over one hundred stamps to her credit for the years 1920, 1921, and 1922, after signing the Unemployment Register for ten weeks, was informed that her claim could not be traced; that she then got notice to attend a Court of Referees in Dublin on October 16th, 1924, at her own expense; and whether he will have inquiries made with a view to payment.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - DROICHEAD NUA UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CLAIM.
I find that Mrs McElligott, of Droichead Nua, lodged a claim to unemployment benefit at the Department's local office on the 30th July last. The claim, which was forwarded to Dublin for adjudication in accordance with the usual procedure, was lost in transit. A duplicate claim was constructed in due course, and submitted to the Court of Referees for a recommendation as to whether the applicant was available for work. Having considered the circumstances of the case, the Court came to the conclusion that Mrs. McElligott was not available for work, and accordingly recommended that her claim should be disallowed, a recommendation which has been accepted by the Insurance Officer. The claim accordingly remains disallowed, but it will be open to Mrs. McElligott to make a fresh claim as soon as she can show that her circumstances have changed and that she is available for work.
What are the peculiar circumstances of her case which make her unavailable for unemployment benefit?
I presume the Deputy means what are the circumstances that have led to the decision that she was not available for work, on which the claim was disallowed. That refers to a particular section of the 1920 Act, a portion of which was held in suspense by the 1924 Act, and in connection with which suspension many claims were put in. A number came from married women who had been at one time in the category of industrial units, and an inquiry was ordered into the circumstances of these women. A number of test cases were arranged; Mrs. McElligott's case was one of these test cases, and it was found that she had not been in the category of an industrial unit for many years, and was not likely to come into that category again.