Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 25 Feb 1948

Vol. 110 No. 2

Supplementary Estimates. - Vote 44—National Health Insurance.

Minister for Social Welfare (Mr. Norton)

I move:—

That a supplementary sum not exceeding £10 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1948, for certain Grants-in-Aid of the National Health Insurance Fund and for other payments under the National Health Insurance Acts, 1911 to 1947, and the Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946, and for certain other grants.

The necessity for this Supplementary Estimate arises solely out of the strike of the clerical and Dublin agency staff of Cumann an Árachais Náisiúnta ar Shláinte. On 17th January, 1948, the committee of management of the society informed the Minister for Social Welfare that, owing to the strike, the society was unable to pay benefits to its members and asked the Minister to take the necessary steps to ensure the continuation of the payment of benefits or to make arrangements for benefits in lieu thereof. In response to this request the Government, under the powers conferred by the Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946, made the Social Welfare (Substitutive Allowances) Order, 1948. Under this Order, arrangements were made to supply public assistance authorities with particulars of all persons in receipt of incapacity benefits at the date of the strike and these persons were informed that on application to the home assistance officers, payments would be made at the rate of 15/- a week in the case of men and 13/6 a week in the case of women. Arrangements were also made to deal with any new claims arising after that date.

Any expenditure by local authorities under the Order will be refunded to them out of the National Health Insurance Vote, and it is proposed at a later date to provide by legislation that the Exchequer be recouped out of the National Health Insurance Fund the amount of the expenditure which would have been met from that fund were it not for the strike.

The Supplementary Estimate which the Dáil is asked to approve provides for expenditure on substitutive allowances and administration amounting to £90,010. This is the maximum estimated expenditure in connection with these allowances up to the end of the current financial year. As savings amounting to £90,000 are anticipated on other sub-heads of the Vote for National Health Insurance the net sum required is £10. It only remains for me to express my appreciation to the local authorities and their staffs in the discharge of this onerous and in the present circumstances disagreeable task.

Mr. Keane

I would very much like that this House should extend its appreciation to An Tánaiste of the effort which he made in fixing this strike which was a sore to everybody and we hope that as a result of his efforts the people who suffered will in the future be recompensed or at least recouped for the sacrifices which they made and that they will never again be faced with the same situation.

Mr. Larkin

There is one aspect of this Estimate to which I would like the Minister to give particular attention. In the course of his introductory speech the Minister paid tribute to the local authorities and to their staffs for having taken on this work which fell to them by virtue of the stoppage in the discharge of duties by the staff of the National Health Insurance Society. It is well to point out that the work was, in fact, carried out by one section of the local authorities' staff, namely, the home assistance officers. While, in the original Order, there was an indication that some compensation or remuneration would be afforded for the work these people undertook, from experience we have found that it has been the practice to place the work on these officers and to forget about the promises made to them. That has happened on a number of occasions in regard to certain features of social services which were introduced during the emergency. I refer to the fuel scheme and to the free vouchers for boots. In both cases these schemes represented additional work for the officers in question. In one case they got no recognition whatsoever and in the case of the vouchers scheme a very paltry sum was afforded. I hope that that treatment will not be repeated. So far as Dublin is concerned I know that not only were the duties of a very onerous nature, but, quite frankly, they were very obnoxious and the officers performed these duties for no other reason than out of regard for the needs of the insured persons and in other circumstances they would not have accepted these duties.

This matter has already been raised and, in so far as the need for these substitutive allowances will rapidly come to an end, the expenditure will be much less than contemplated. I hope the Minister will keep in mind the claims of these officers throughout the country, and particularly in Dublin, for monetary recompense for the discharge of the additional duties which should, in fact, have been discharged by the officers of the National Health Insurance Society.

Mr. Norton

I appreciate, of course, that the work of the employees of local authorities in this matter helped to avert what would otherwise have been a very difficult situation for recipients of national health insurance benefit. As a matter of fact I realise that that work was performed under conditions which were rather trying on the officers concerned and which had within them ingredients that were in some respects explosive.

I can assure Deputy Larkin that, if a promise was made to the men concerned that they would get compensation in respect of the discharge of these duties, that promise will be implemented. I will undertake to have the matter examined with a view to seeing that whatever compensation is payable will be available with the utmost expedition, for those who performed the work.

Vote put and agreed to.