asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether, in view of the provisions of the last paragraph of Section 3, sub-section (1), of the Unemployment Insurance (No. 2) Bill, 1924, which has just passed through the Dáil, it is intended that ex-Army men brought into Special Benefit by the Bill can begin completing their waiting week now.
CEISTEANNA—QUESTIONS. ORAL ANSWERS. - EX-ARMY MEN AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE.
I am glad the Deputy has put down this question, as it draws attention to a point to which I had intended to give as much publicity as possible during the discussions here on the Bill.
The conditions for the receipt of Special Benefit will be the same as for ordinary Unemployment Benefit. Among these is the condition that six days' unemployment, known as the waiting week, must be proved before an applicant is eligible for benefit. No benefit is payable for these six days. It may, therefore, be fourteen days before an applicant actually receives any payment.
The paragraph referred to in the question was included in the Bill to enable the waiting week to be completed now, so that the ex-Army man may be entitled to receive payment, if he satisfies the other conditions, as soon as possible after the passing of the Bill. For this purpose he should, if unemployed, attend the Unemployment Exchange to sign the register.
Will the Minister endeavour to see that applicants under the new Bill will get at least one payment before Christmas if they have their applications in in time?
The paragraph referred to in the question was put in specially to meet the case of the ex-Army men. It was thought they would be the only people who might be prevented by the terms of the Bill from receiving payment before Christmas. It was believed, in the case of the others, inasmuch as this waiting week would already have passed for most of them, that the payments would be made. This was to meet the only possible exception that seemed likely to occur.