asked the Minister for Social Welfare whether he is aware of the long delays being experienced by workers in having cases relating to workmen's compensation and national health insurance dealt with, and whether he will take steps to ensure that a more effective and speedy system of dealing with such cases is introduced.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Workmen's Compensation and National Health Insurance.
The National Health Insurance Acts provide that where compensation in respect of an accident disability is paid or payable no sickness or disablement benefit can be paid in respect of that disability if the weekly amount of any compensation or the weekly value of any lump sum equals or exceeds the amount of benefit otherwise payable; if the weekly amount or the weekly value of the lump sum is less than the benefit in question the difference is payable as benefit. Further, the National Health Insurance Society is authorised to withhold benefit in any case where a member appears to be entitled to compensation and unreasonably refuses or neglects to take proceedings to enforce his claim.
Those provisions which are primarily intended to safeguard national health insurance funds throw a serious responsibility on the society as the body concerned with the payment of benefit, but I am not aware that there is undue delay on its part in discharging its duty in this respect.
The Deputy will appreciate that some delay in the payment of benefit is inevitable where adequate particulars of the compensation aspect of the case are not available at the time benefit is claimed and the society finds it necessary to institute inquiries.
I would add that the society is empowered to pay benefit by way of advance pending settlement of a claim for compensation, and I understand that, being fully alive to the possibility of hardship arising out of the absence of payment from some source, it freely avails of this power in this respect.
If the Deputy will furnish me with particulars of any case in which it is alleged there has been undue delay, I will have the matter fully investigated.