asked the President if he will state what steps, if any, have been taken to give effect to the Resolution, which was passed on June the 8th, 1932, calling on the Government to provide work or maintenance for the unemployed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Work or Maintenance Resolution.
The Government have, previous to the passing of this Resolution, accepted it in principle and in practice by providing in this year's revenue the maximum possible sum which the resources of the State can bear in this year for relief— namely, £2,125,000 and by initiating a housing scheme involving the expenditure of £5,000,000.
This is in addition to the normal distress relief represented by contribution to Unemployment Insurance, Home Assistance and the like.
Under this Relief Scheme, £90,000 has already been allocated to Road Work, employing at present 4,185 men. It is hoped to allocate during the next week, approximately, £400,000 more to the county councils under this head.
A sum of £53,200 has been made available for Dublin and district and 700 men are now employed.
Under the Board of Works £19,500 has been allocated and all schemes under this head are proceeding, employing 184 men.
The Housing Grant is already operating. Private builders have already submitted schemes for 2,000 houses, which will employ 3,000 to 4,000 men. While the local authorities have in hand 1,500 houses and have put forward proposals for 3,600 more, making a total of 7,000; the total employment will be 8,000 to 10,000 men.
About £40,000 of public health schemes are already authorised and schemes totalling about £350,000 made up of £250,000 local loan and £100,000 grant, will be available for autumn and winter relief.
£30,000 has been allocated for arterial drainage, while improvement work schedules of approximately £3,000 per county have been approved for four counties and are in process of preparation for all the old congested districts.
Of the £25,000 ear-marked for industry and commerce, £17,000 has been authorised for issue and work under all these schemes will start at an early date.
Recent registrations of unemployed have changed the whole distribution of the unemployment map. The actual registrations have risen from 35,000 on the 6th of June to 71,000 on July 4th; the additions being broadly West of the Shannon and these figures will require analysis before they can be regarded as the basis of allocation.
The whole object of the organisation of this relief is to get all the money into operation in the places and at the time it is most needed, but there is every reason to believe that the arrangements made will enable this to be done.
Arising out of the answer, while I am fairly satisfied as to the steps taken by the Government to provide work for the unemployed, may I remind the President that my motion which was passed on the 8th June by this House calls upon the Government to provide work or maintenance to meet the immediate needs of the unemployed? I gather from the President's answer that employment has been provided, or is about to be provided, for roughly 10,000 out of 80,000 odd at present unemployed. Will the President state what steps, if any, have been taken by the Government to provide maintenance for the other 70,000 odd?
No steps have been taken to provide maintenance in the sense I think that Deputy Morrissey wants the motion to be interpreted. I cannot make a speech on it now, but the fundamental purpose of our policy has been to exhaust all possibilities of providing employment. Already we provide maintenance in the sense of providing something which would bring into the individual the equivalent of the wage he would get while at work. I take it that that is the understanding that Deputy Morrissey has—that something equivalent to the wage earned while employed would be provided for individuals while disemployed. It is quite clear that there are definite limits to our powers in that regard, and that we are proceeding in the wisest and best way to do ultimately what the Deputy has in mind. If having exhausted the possibilities of providing work there are still sections of the community unprovided for, we will have to face the possibility in the full sense in which Deputy Morrissey wants it done. But we are not able to do it forthwith. It is humanly and physically impossible.
Might I ask the President is he aware of the terms of the motion passed by this House on the 8th June giving directions to the Government that they were to provide work or maintenance to meet the immediate needs of the unemployed? Am I to take it from the President's statement—I admit the difficulty—that the position at the moment is this, that the Government is not able to give effect to the motion passed by this House on the 8th June last?
Not in the sense that Deputy Morrissey wishes it to be given.
It is not a question of the sense in which I want it done, but the original motion which was passed by this House on the 8th June was to provide work or maintenance to meet the immediate needs of the unemployed.
If I remember correctly, the motion was that steps should be taken to provide employment.
I would like if the President would look at the original motion. The original motion called upon the Government to provide work or maintenance to meet the immediate needs of the unemployed. Now I admit it frankly myself that that would be a very difficult proposition. The President has admitted that they have only been able to provide employment for roughly 8,000 to 10,000 men. We will leave aside for a moment the total number who are disemployed. Would the President state whether the Government are now in a position to provide work or maintenance?
I have been handed a copy of Deputy Morrissey's motion which was passed by the House. It is as follows:—
That the Dáil is of opinion that steps should be taken forthwith by the Executive Council to provide work or maintenance to meet the immediate needs of the unemployed.
The Executive Council has taken that as the opinion of the House and has proceeded to take steps—and did so immediately, even before this motion was passed—to provide work or maintenance. We are doing our best to provide work as an alternative to maintenance. What we are not able to do is what the Deputy wishes to be done as a result of this motion, namely, that we should provide at this moment maintenance for everybody who is unemployed. Even if we were, in the sense of being able to give them the equivalent of a wage, it would be clearly impolitic to do so as long as we are able to get people absorbed in work, because if a man gets the equivalent of a wage without working it is obvious that there would be no definite inducement to work. We have got to do it in the proper order and everything that was involved in that, and that it was humanly possible for us to do here, was done as rapidly as possible by the Executive Council, keeping in mind the lasting needs of the community.
I am quite satisfied that the Government is doing its best to provide work. As this is an important matter may I also say that I agree with the President that it is much more important to provide work than maintenance? I agree that the Government is doing its best, and as I am quite satisfied that the——
Sit down.
Deputy Flinn is Minister for Unemployment, unofficially.
Sit down.
May I ask the President if he can see his way, as soon as he can, and when the material is at his disposal, to give the numbers of unemployed in the country at the latest date, and the numbers that have been absorbed, or taken into employment under their schemes?
I will certainly try to do that. I assure the Deputy that the needs of the unemployed who are unable to earn their daily bread have been before the Executive Council as one of their principal tasks.
I am not doubting that at all, and I assure the President that this was not raised in any vexatious manner.
Might I ask the President——
We have spent twelve minutes on this question.
Only one Deputy asked questions.