asked the Minister for Social Welfare: (i) if he will state whether the Gardaí were invited to come within the scope of the proposed comprehensive social welfare scheme in so far as it applied to widows and orphans; and, if so, with what result; and (ii) if he can state whether the decision in the matter was made by the Garda Representative Body or at a general meeting of the officers and men of the force.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Gardaí and Social Welfare Scheme.
The question of the scope of the proposed comprehensive scheme is at present under consideration and there will be no avoidable delay in making details of the scheme public.
I think the Minister has answered the wrong question.
That is the reply to No. 8. The question of the scope of the scheme, namely, who will be included within the scheme, is under consideration at present. Full information as to the scope of the scheme will be announced as soon as it is possible to make that announcement.
The reason I put the question down was because I wanted to know if the Minister's Department had invited Gardaí to come along and participate; whether such invitation had been attended to, and whether a decision had been reached as to whether they would or would not desire to come within the scope of the scheme. The Minister has not answered that part of the question at all.
The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot negotiate with every separate class of person who may come within the scope of this scheme to see whether that class desires to come in; and, if so, on what terms. The matter will be dealt with in this way. The scheme will be made available to the Department which controls the Garda Síochána. It is a matter for that Department, therefore, to express its views as a Department on what it thinks should be the position regarding the insurability of the staff in that Department. I take it, in the meantime, that members of the Garda Síochána who are represented by a representative council would themselves, if they so desire, express any views they have on the matter to the Minister for Justice. Similarly, the Minister for Justice may express his views to the Gardaí on the matter.
The Minister has not answered the simple question which I have asked him. I asked the Minister if the Gardaí were invited—yes or no —and, if so, if they themselves said "yes" or "no", as the case may be. The Minister has completely evaded the question. He does not say whether they were or were not invited or whether a decision was made.
The answer is neither "yes" nor "no". The Government Department responsible for the administration of the Garda Síochána have been informed of the scope of the proposed scheme. Their views on the matter will, in due course, filter back to me for submission to the Government.
That is the answer I wanted.
The Deputy will see that it is neither "yes" nor "no".
It is the answer I wanted, anyway.