asked the Minister for Finance if he is prepared to issue an order that single men with dependents should be allotted a proportion of the work on rotational schemes.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment of Single Men.
No preference in employment on rotational schemes is given to married or single men as such. The recruitment of labour is based on the general regulation that preference is given to men in receipt of the highest rates of unemployment assistance. The principle underlying this regulation is that the unemployment assistance scales do, in fact, represent the relative degree of necessitousness of the recipient. The effect of this on the recruitment of men for employment is that, to the extent to which a single man has dependents, his position, so far as preference is concerned, is not markedly less favourable than that of a married man. For instance, in an urban area with more than 7,000 inhabitants a married man with four dependents (a wife and three others) receives 13/6 per week unemployment assistance, and a single man with four dependents receives 12/- per week unemployment assistance. Experience shows that a fair percentage of single men in rural areas are employed on rotational schemes. In urban areas, however, owing to the different conditions, the single men have not been employed to the same degree, but the question is under consideration in the light of experience gained in connection with the urban schemes in 1936-37. I may say that I am having an examination made of the position in Wexford as a test case in order to find out exactly what is happening. When I have that information, I shall be very happy to go into it with the Deputies for the district and see if, on the facts, they can formulate any suggestion for an improvement on the existing conditions.
May we rest assured that no confidential letters will issue from the Department of the Parliamentary Secretary to members of his own Party in regard to the situation obtaining in Wexford?
That is a separate question.