asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if an application for unemployment assistance benefit has been received from Edward Prunty, Lislea, Ballinalee, and if so, if he will state whether benefit has been paid in this case, and, if not, why.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Longford Applicants for Unemployment Assistance
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state why unemployment insurance benefit has been refused to John Kiernan, Ohill, Drumlish, County Longford, qualification No. 399, Class No. L. 22, County Longford, and if it is a fact that unemployment assistance was refused on the grounds that he had not utilised his insurance benefit, and if he is aware that he is a married man with a wife and six children and that unemployment insurance was paid previously.
I propose to deal with questions Nos. 6 and 7 together. For the reasons stated in reply to a number of questions addressed to me by Deputy Curran on the 12th December last. I cannot for the present and some time to come see my way to reply to questions regarding individual applications for unemployment assistance.
Is the Minister aware that these individual cases are cases of very great hardship? One of the persons whom I have mentioned is an agricultural labourer. He lives in a labourer's cottage and he has a wife and six or seven children. Because there was a small piece of shrubbery planted in the garden his application was refused on the ground that he had a nursery. The man is practically on the verge of starvation.
All persons who are refused a qualification certificate or who dispute the means stated on the qualification certificate issued to them are entitled to appeal. A very large number have appealed. It is because the ascertaining of information concerning individual cases would completely disorganise the machinery established for dealing with these appeals and cause further delay in disposing of them that I ask that Parliamentary questions concerning individual cases should not be raised at this time until the arrears of appeals have been cleared off. The Appeals Committee is working as rapidly as possible and it is hoped the appeals will all be disposed of at some fairly early date.
This man made application in September last. He was nine months unemployed at that particular time and now he has to wait for some appeal board to hear his case. He appealed immediately after his application was refused. Surely the Minister agrees that there must be some method by which cases of this type can be expedited. I remember the matter was raised here before and the Minister undertook to have more referees appointed so as to expedite the hearing of cases. These are very serious cases.
I explained to the Deputy that the machinery for considering these appeals is being worked as rapidly as possible; it could not be duplicated without fresh legislation, and it is doubtful if fresh legislation is desirable. The Deputy must remember that in every case where a certificate is refused it is because the unemployment assistance officer has decided that the person is not entitled to the certificate; in other words, the evidence is prima facie against the applicant. Applicants who have been refused have, of course, availed of the right to appeal, with the result that there are some 20,000 appeals awaiting consideration.