It has been stated that there are upwards of 100,000 of our countrymen earning their living outside Éire. The Minister, I am glad, did not let it in on one ear and out on another when I first drew attention to the difficulties of these people and the injustice of putting people out of benefit because they left the country. So far as the Minister has gone, I believe this Bill will benefit some 50,000 people, but there are, I believe, another 50,000 who will not derive any benefits from the measure. The Bill that he now proposes is to continue in benefit for unemployment insurance those who left the country and who, when they left it, were in benefit. What I have in mind is that the first 5,000 or 10,000 who left the country to seek employment in Great Britain and Northern Ireland were completely out of benefit and had no stamps to their credit. I am anxious to know what is to become of these men should the emergency cease and should they come home. What are they entitled to? The Minister is not providing in this Bill for men who were completely out of benefit. He is providing continuation in benefit for those who had stamps to their credit when they left. The period during which they would be out of the country is to be overlooked. That is a very good proposal indeed and I would say the Minister has been wise and, possibly, has gone as far as the law will permit.
I handed in an amendment to-day which, I understand, I cannot move. I have the Ceann Comhairle's letter here stating reasons. The Ceann Comhairle says: "Your amendment seeks to qualify certain other persons for unemployment benefit although corresponding contributions have not been paid into the fund." The letter goes on to give other reasons. I believe the Government should be very gracious about this matter. They should pay into some fund money that would put in benefit those who will come home and be completely out of benefit here.
I think the Minister ought to find some way of going a step further. He has gone a good way to meet the point that I have been making here for many weeks past when I discovered what was happening in Great Britain and in Northern Ireland, namely, that 100,000 men from this country are now putting stamps on their cards that they will get no credit for. I still believe that a reciprocal arrangement could be made with the other Governments, and that the Minister would find, if he tried, that something could be done in that direction. I would appeal to him not to leave the position as it is. I have been unable to move my amendment. It asked that a new class of persons who, before they left this State for employment elsewhere, were not eligible for unemployment benefit by reason of a lack of contributions, should, on their return here, be deemed to be eligible for unemployment benefit for a period not exceeding 26 weeks. I was giving them 26 weeks to get into benefit, and had hoped that I would have found some way of getting that new section inserted. I now understand that it cannot be done. The only thing left to me is to make an appeal to the Minister to give the matter further consideration, and see if he can include them by some means other than the amendment I had intended to propose.