One of the most fruitful sources of public controversy has been in connection with the measure adopted by the Government for the regulation of personal remuneration during the emergency. I wish particularly to refer to suggestions which were made by Deputies here during last year, to the effect that the Orders which were then in force should be codified so that persons who had occasion to refer to them would have a single document in which they could find the whole of the law relating to the matter. That codification of Orders made under the Emergency Powers Act, dealing with the control of wages, salaries, directors' fees, and other forms of personal remuneration, has been made, and Emergency Powers Order No. 260 represents not merely the result of the effort to codify the previously existing Orders but also contains modifications of these Orders which experience has shown to be necessary. I think it can be said that whatever controversy may still exist about the wisdom of the policy as a whole, the machinery established by that Order is working smoothly and to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. The number of applications which are being made for standard rate Orders and bonus Orders is very considerable but, nevertheless, they are being disposed of with considerable dispatch. It is not now necessary to refer all these applications to a tribunal established under the Order. Under the new procedure, when there is agreement between the parties concerned, and where the nature of the employment is not such as to raise an obvious consideration of public interest, then bonus Orders and standard rate Orders can be, and are being, made without reference to a tribunal at all.
Where there is no agreement, where the facts of the case are in dispute or where it is clear that the effect of granting the application upon the cost of living might be considerable, then there is an examination in public by a tribunal and Orders are made upon the recommendations of a tribunal. In each case, the tribunal consists of a chairman, appointed by myself, a representative of employers and a representative of workers. I am happy to say that, in the great majority of cases, the recommendations of tribunals have been agreed to by all members. Up to date, there have been, roughly, 450 standard-rate Orders and about 550 bonus Orders. The difference between the number of standard-rate and the number of bonus Orders is explained by the fact that, under the provisions of Emergency Order 260, it is possible to make a bonus Order without having previously made a standard-rate Order. That modification of the original provision was considered necessary in order to deal with the circumstances of occupations in which, for one reason or another, it was impracticable to determine or to put down upon paper what the standard rate of wages of the employees had been on the appropriate date.
I mentioned that, in normal times, a large part of the work of the Department of Industry and Commerce is concerned with conciliation in industrial disputes. Fortunately—I am sure all Deputies will agree as to the use of that word—the number of industrial disputes reported to the Department of Industry and Commerce during the past year was substantially less than in previous years. That is, I think; partially due to the fact that the Government decided upon a wage-control policy. I feel sure that, apart from any objections in principle which there may be to that policy, most people concerned with the interests of workers or the interests of employers will agree that it is eminently desirable in present circumstances that the number of stoppages of work, due to industrial disputes, should be reduced to a minimum. It has, I think, been a real benefit to this country that, during the past year, the stoppages of work which did occur were few in number and that no case was so extensive in character or so prolonged in duration as to cause serious difficulties of supply.
The Statistics Branch of the Department is continuing to serve with increasing efficiency the need for reliable information concerning national conditions. I refer to it in the course of these introductory remarks for the purpose of informing the House that it will be necessary, in the course of the coming twelve months, to take a new register of population. The ration books now in use by the public will have become exhausted about the middle of next year. It will be necessary to replace these ration books with new books. Originally, it was contemplated that the back page of the present book would serve as a registration form and thus simplify the re-registration of the population when the issue of another book became necessary. Experience has, however, shown that it would be too unreliable to proceed in the manner originally contemplated, and that it is better to prepare a new population register. That will be done during the course of the next 12 months. It will have to be done to enable a new issue of ration books to be made next year. We contemplate the preparation of the new ration book upon the basis of the need to maintain the rationing of some commodities in some form for three further years. It may be, and I am sure we all hope, that circumstances will permit of the termination of rationing before the expiration of that period but, having regard to the known facts concerning the world supply situation in respect of commodities which are regarded as essential, we have to face up to the possibility that rationing will still continue to be necessary for a period, even should active hostilities cease. At any rate, it is upon that assumption we are making our plans. If the circumstances should prove that the assumption is too pessimistic, we shall all be delighted. On the other hand, if they show that the assumption is correct, then it will be a relief to know that the necessary arrangements for dealing with that situation have been made.
I presume that, in accordance with the normal practice, the administration of unemployment insurance and unemployment assistance will be debated upon the main Vote. A number of Votes for which the Minister for Industry and Commerce is responsible have, for legal reasons, to be moved separately, but it has always been the practice of the House to discuss them together. I do not think that there is any special point to which I wish to refer in connection with the administration of unemployment insurance or unemployment assistance. During the course of the past year we brought into operation a special register of agricultural workers. That register was complementary to the decision of the Government to place restriction upon the emigration of persons who were experienced in the work of agriculture or the work of turf production. It was felt that, if such persons were subjected to greater restrictions than applied to the population as a whole, some compensatory benefits should be made available to them. It was decided to give increased benefits by the device of setting up a special register of such workers, those included on the register being entitled to the enjoyment of certain privileges, which include payment of extra sums during unemployment, exemption from the operation of Unemployment Period Orders and preference on works financed out of public funds. The number of persons registered as unemployed at employment exchanges at present is lower than it has been at any time for the past ten years. The number of persons on the register in January of the present year—I take January because it is the period in which unemployment is normally at its worst, and in which the number on the register is at its highest—was 88,435. In no previous January, back to 1934, was the number so low. In fact, for each week of the present year the number on the register has been on the average 10,000 less than for the corresponding week of last year.
That circumstance, while partly due to the amount of work available in turf production and in other employment in rural areas is, of course, as Deputies well know, attributable very largely to the emigration which has occurred during the past year. The Government's policy upon emigration has been stated frequently in the Dáil and made clear to the public by means of announcements in the Press and over the radio. Normally, we ban the emigration of any person who is in employment, or for whom employment is immediately available in this country. The ban applies, except in special circumstances, also to people under 22 years of age. Of course, agricultural and turf workers were provided for under the special register scheme.
I do not know that any modification of that policy is practicable. Certainly, nobody has at any time suggested that the particular procedure now in operation should be changed in any specific way. I know, and every Deputy knows, that the way to deal with the emigration which is now proceeding is by increasing opportunities for work at home. The Government would like nothing better than to be able to expand the opportunities of work here so as to encourage Irish workers to remain at home rather than to proceed to employment elsewhere. Under existing conditions, however, the work which can be given by private employers is contracting in volume, and the work that can be financed and carried through by Government Departments is also limited in scope by reason of the dearth of materials, tools and fuel.
It is not now possible to carry through large scale housing schemes or other constructional works of the type which the Government financed and supervised in pre-war years. If we could do these works upon the same scale as in the pre-war period, the House knows that they would be done. It is solely because of inability to obtain the necessary equipment that the number of such works has diminished. In so far as large works can be carried through with the available materials and available equipment, they are being undertaken, but the impossibility of expanding the scope and size of such works to the extent which would absorb workers disemployed from the service of private firms owing to the emergency, will be readily recognised. If, however, Deputies have proposals to make as to how restrictions upon emigration should be modified in one way or the other—either to allow classes out that are not now allowed out, or to prevent classes who can secure travel permits from emigrating—I should be glad if they would put forward their proposals in a specific and detailed manner.
At the present time there is coming into operation the Wet Time Act. That is the title given to the measure which was passed here for the purpose of insuring workers engaged in the building trade against loss of employment due to inclement weather. The need for legislation of that kind had been recognised in the building industry for a long time, but neither here nor in any other country had an attempt been made to carry it through until that Act was passed in the Dáil just before the outbreak of the war. I do not think that any other country has legislation of the same kind in force, and it is interesting to note that Government Departments of many countries have asked for reports on the legislation we prepared and on the administrative problems that have arisen in connection with it. It can be assumed, therefore, that our Act has been regarded as a headline by the Governments of these other countries but, while that is something upon which we can compliment ourselves, it is necessary for Deputies to keep in mind that inevitably, as is the case with all pioneers, we are going to run into difficulties which we have not foreseen, and we may have to amend our administrative methods in order to circumvent these difficulties. The Act is now coming into operation. Workers employed in the building industry are now making contributions, but the payments of benefits will not begin until next month. It will be necessary for a worker to have been in employment and to have 12 contributions to his credit before he becomes entitled to benefit. By that means a fund is created from which benefit will be paid. That Act will be in full operation before the end of next month— that is to say, all workers employed in the industry will be making contribution and all workers who lose their employment by reason of inclement weather will be entitled to the benefits prescribed in the Act.
The only other matter to which I wish to refer is the food voucher scheme, so far as it is administered by my Department. The Department is responsible for the distribution of food vouchers to persons entitled to unemployment assistance. I think that we can say that on the whole the scheme has worked well throughout the year. Ten thousand five hundred persons benefit by the scheme every week— that is to say that number of persons, entitled to unemployment assistance, are receiving food vouchers, graded in accordance with the size of their families. Food vouchers are also given to other classes, but I am referring now only to unemployment assistance recipients. It is true that at various periods in some districts persons with food vouchers experienced difficulty in procuring supplies against the vouchers. Such an experience is almost inevitable in circumstances such as we are now passing through, but everywhere it was reported that such difficulties had arisen, ad hoc arrangements were made to try to reduce them or remove them altogether.
It was not possible in some cases to guarantee to holders of food vouchers that they would get their appropriate supplies every week but, where temporary difficulties arose, we tried to meet the problem by enabling the vouchers of recipients to be cashed in arrear so that they suffered only a temporary inconvenience caused by the inability of traders to meet their case. It is, however, necessary to impress on traders that persons presenting food vouchers should have a prior claim upon supplies in circumstances of temporary difficulty. Their need is obviously greater than that of others, and I am glad to say that the vast majority of traders have always acted in the spirit of that appeal, so much so that, having regard to the difficulties of the time and the number of persons concerned, it is really remarkable how few the complaints have been.
There are, of course, a number of functions of the Department of Industry and Commerce to which I have not referred and to which I do not propose to refer unless some Deputy requests me to do so. I can assure the House that any matter concerning the activities of the Department about which they desire information will be fully dealt with by me in replying. My sole anxiety is to see that the fullest possible information is given to Deputies, so that they may be familiar with the many problems which have arisen in the Department, and the methods by which we have decided to cope with them.
