asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state (i) for the latest year for which figures are available, the actual amounts received (a) as contributions under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 to 1946, from each class of employed persons and (b) from employers in respect of each class of such persons; (ii) the total amount thus received from employed persons and employers, and (iii) in regard to each of the classes of employed persons and their employers what the amounts would have been if the contributions had been payable at the rates prescribed in Section 28 of the Social Welfare Bill, 1948, and what on this basis the total amounts of the contributions payable under all heads would have been.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Insurance Contributions.
As regards the first two parts of the question, the latest year for which the information is available is the calendar year 1947, and the required particulars of income are:—
|
From employed persons |
£ 533,811 |
|
From employers |
597,842 |
|
Total |
£1,131,653 |
On the assumption stated in the third part of the question the figures would have been £659,312, £723,574 and £1,382,886, respectively.
So I was not £10,000 out.
You have got to do a subtraction sum on that yet. I still hope you understand the figures. The Deputy will appreciate that I did not give him a very high certificate in that respect yesterday, and his supplementary question to-day does not indicate that he has made any improvement since yesterday.
The Minister has stated that, on the assumption mentioned in part 3 of question No. 4, the total amount which would have been collected would be £1,382,800. Is that, in fact, not £251,000 more than was actually collected in the year 1947?
The Deputy can make his own subtractions.
Has the Minister not got the figures before him?
I have given the Deputy the information.
I am asking the Minister is that correct.
I will examine the Deputy's calculations carefully.
Is the position, therefore, that under Section 28 of the Bill now before the House employed persons under the national health insurance scheme will have to pay £251,000 more than they paid in the year 1947?
We are resuming on the Social Welfare Bill after Question Time and I have no doubt I shall hear from the Deputy on this subject then.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state (i) for the latest year for which figures are available, the actual income derived by the National Health Insurance Society (a) from contributions of employed contributors, (b) from the contributions of employers, and (ii) the total actual income derived by the society from contributions, and (iii) what the total contribution income of the society would have been, and what its income (a) from employed contributors and (b) from employers would have been, if the contributions had been payable at the rates prescribed in Section 16 of the Social Welfare Bill, 1948.
As regards the first two parts of the question, the latest year for which the information is available is the calendar year 1946, and the required particulars of income are:—
|
From employed contributors |
£340,514 |
|
From employers |
£372,044 |
|
Total |
£712,558 |
On the assumption stated in the third part of the question the figures would have been £526,536, £604,573 and £1,131,109, respectively.
So that, in fact, I considerably underestimated the actual additional amount which will be collected under Section 16 of the Bill from employer and employee contributors. It should be something like £420,000 extra which will be collected from that source this year under Section 16.
I warned the Deputy yesterday that he displayed no genius in mathematics and if he made an underestimation that is his own problem.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state (i) for the latest year for which figures are available, the actual amounts collected from each of the several classes of employed persons insured under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1947, and from the employers of such persons; (ii) the total amount of all the contributions thus collected, and (iii) what the amounts collected from each of the several classes of employed persons and from employers in respect of such persons would have been if the contributions had been payable at the rates proposed to be prescribed under Section 42 of the Social Welfare Bill, 1948, and what the total sum thus collected would have been.
As regards the first two parts of the question, the required particulars for the year ended 31st March 1948, are:—
|
From employed persons |
£257,716 |
|
From employers |
£400,250 |
|
Total |
£657,966 |
On the assumption stated in the third part of the question, the figures would have been £386,574, £561,808 and £948,382, respectively.
So that, instead of being £252,000, as I estimated, the additional amount of contributions to be collected under Section 42 of the Bill is nearer £300,000. Is that right?
The Deputy was wrong all along the line.
No, I have been very moderate in my estimate. Would the Minister now please tell us exactly under all heads the additional amount which will be collected from the contributors?
No doubt, someone will calculate it for the Deputy if he is unable to do so.