asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he is aware that the total sum paid annually by insurance companies as compensation to workers injured by accident arising out of and in the course of their employment is equivalent only to 13/- out of each £1 paid as premiums to the insurance companies by the employers, and that this sum of 13/- includes the medical and legal expenses necessarily incurred by the workers in recovering compensation; whether he is aware that, although employers are paying in premiums to cover their legal risk very substantial sums annually, the benefits provided are totally inadequate; and whether in the circumstances he is prepared to introduce proposals for amending the Workmen's Compensation Act so as to provide (a) for the administration of the Insurance Fund by a State Department; (b) increased benefits for injured workers, and (c) a simplified and more expeditious procedure for the recovery of compensation.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Compensation Payments by Insurance Companies.
The total sums paid annually by insurance companies to workers and the sums paid as premiums to the insurance companies by employers naturally vary from year to year. Workers to whom compensation is awarded normally meet their own medical and legal expenses, but Section 73 of the Workmen's Compensation Act of 1934 makes special provision for the payment of medical or surgical expenses. I do not agree that the benefits provided under the Workmen's Compensation Act are inadequate. It is not intended to introduce proposals for amending the Act in the manner suggested in the question.