I was pleased last night to hear the Tánaiste pay a well deserved tribute to the members of the committee and the staff of the National Health Insurance Society. I think the tribute was well deserved and that it was fitting and proper that it should be paid at this particular time. Few organisations set up in this country have been more successful than the National Health Insurance Society and, as I say, that tribute was well deserved because, out of chaos, a splendid organisation was built up with a reserve of something in the region of £7,000,000. When the society took over, the position was very bad. Some of the former societies were bankrupt or semi-bankrupt. Many of our people were not educated to the value of national health insurance. It was a difficult matter and they have made a good job of it and they deserve any tribute the Minister can pay to them.
There are 700,000 members of the organisation and I would like the Minister to make clear why the stamps were increased, without additional benefit being paid. I cannot see any reason for that, as the society was in a good financial position and capable of meeting any extra payments. I hope that the Minister, when he takes over completely on the 1st August, will abolish immediately, once and for all, disablement benefit. The Minister understands full well that if a man is ill for 26 weeks his financial position is not better—it is worse—and I sincerely hope that the Minister will see to it that we will hear no more of disablement benefit, that the rate of sickness benefit will continue during the member's illness. That would be an advance, and we have been advancing steadily since 1934. Additional benefits—dental, optical, surgical—are paid to-day, and any member of the society can go in alongside his wealthy neighbour, knowing that he has no longer the taint of pauperism about the treatment he gets, since his society will be paying for him a reasonable sum to meet the hospital demands. He is as good as his neighbour and all that helps towards a speedy recovery of those unfortunates who have to go into hospital. One of the best things that a man can feel is that he is being paid for there. His one concern, if he is married or has dependents, is that his wife and family are not getting as much as will keep body and soul together. The Minister may say that he proposes to correct all this in the new Bill. However, a long time will elapse and much water will flow under bridges before that. Many people will become ill—I am not praying for an epidemic—and will be confined to hospital or to their homes. The Minister should do something of a temporary nature until the proposed Bill becomes law, as everybody admits that the cost of living makes it well-nigh impossible for people to exist under the maximum benefit to which they are entitled to-day.
The social welfare officers are a very fine body of men and have a difficult task to do in dealing with insurance and pensions combined. I appeal to the Minister to see that their areas are not overlapping, so that we will not have an officer travelling through another officer's area, with consequent hardship on himself when he has finished a hard day's work and has to return a long journey. Again, the expense is high and adds to the amount of the National Health Vote. You find a good deal of that and a little more time should be given to it. Again, the dispensary districts are unsuitable. They are very old, and I do not know why half of them are so arranged. I hope the officials of the Department will not be guided by them at all. It would be better to take the townlands. The rural electoral areas are also bad, as you have one electoral area jutting perhaps two or three miles into another. That does not make for good administration and the officers are not capable of coping with all the work to be done.
We have not enough social welfare officers. They are never able to do a survey, as their time is taken up with the investigation of national health reports and of old-age pension claims. As a result, we have a lot of fly boys getting under the wire—I do not say there is an awful lot, but some do get under the wire—and they shirk their responsibility towards their employees and towards the State. I do not think they should be let away with it. They are the exceptions, the minority; but if we had a few extra officers here and there, they would see to it that that position would not continue. I suggest to the Minister that that be done.
I have another suggestion—and I think the Minister can carry out this one by regulation—regarding cases where a person becomes ill and his cards were not stamped at the time by the employer through no fault of the member. The Minister will understand that it is often hard for a member to report his employer; he may be under some debt of gratitude to him or may find it otherwise difficult. If it is not through deliberate fault, such as withholding the card deliberately, that person should not be deprived of benefit for a certain period. When the card is stamped, the card should immediately qualify him, instead of the penalty we have at the present time. I would ask the Minister to amend that by regulation when he takes over the society on the 1st August. The Minister and the House can readily understand that there are great hardships under that rule. I know the remedy is there with the insured person, but unfortunately he cannot usually take advantage of it, so I hope the Minister will look into the matter and remedy it, if at all possible.
We had a long tirade last night from Deputy Dunne. It is a pity he took such an attitude in a debate of this kind. Deputies should not be looking through their political glasses when they want to help the poorer sections of the community. I think their contributions should be such as would be helpful and constructive rather than that they should try to score off somebody else. Deputy Dunne accused Fianna Fáil of not doing anything for the old age pensioners. That is farther from the truth than many a statement I have heard for a long time.
In 1932 the rate of pension was 9/- per week. Fianna Fáil restored the shilling, and it must be remembered that the value of a shilling then compares very favourably with the recent 2/6 increase. Again, the 1924 Act debarred any person who three years before the passing of the Act or any time after transferred either property or income, and that property or income was taken into consideration under Section 7 of the Act even though it had been transferred for the most bona fide motives, such as the marriage of a son, infirmity or old age. Fianna Fáil abolished that penal section. Where there was a transfer of property they made it possible to have the pension paid. The idea of transfer was a good one, and it did provide an incentive to our young people to get married. I know many people concerned, and I know that comparisons are sometimes made, but I think it is always a good thing to implement a section of an Act if that section does good work. There may be unfair discrimination here and there. Every Act cannot be perfect.
In 1932 the age limit for applicants under the Blind Persons Act was 50: Fianna Fáil reduced that to 30. It is true that the schedules governing the means test were not altered. They had been altered in 1924, and I would appeal to the Minister to restore the schedules governing the means test prior to the 1924 Act. His officers could be given certain discretion in the case of small farmers with large families. I think large families should always be taken into account in assessing an applicant's means. Prior to the 1924 Act a person in receipt of £26 5s. 0d. was entitled to the maximum pension. After the passing of that Act a person in receipt of £15 12s. 6d. was automatically debarred from the maximum pension, and so on up along the scale. It is quite true to say that the Minister altered the means test from £39 to £52, and as a result of that there are pensions of 7/6 and 5/- now. The greatest hardship always falls upon the section with the smallest income. That is why I appeal to the Minister to restore the £26 5s. if at all possible. If that were done a number of our people would qualify for the maximum pension. That would be a great help to them.
I have heard a lot of tripe talked here and there about the abolition of the means test. People forget that the abolition of the means test would cost something in the region of £7,000,000 or £8,000,000 per year more. I fail to see why a person with plenty of money in the bank and a good income should become a burden on the unfortunate taxpayers. I fail to see why we should help in any way to make the wealthy people wealthier. I do not think that is a good principle, and I hardly think the means test will be abolished in our time.
There are many people in receipt of disablement benefit who could be put into useful employment. Surely a person with one leg or one arm is not entirely incapacitated from doing useful work. I think the Minister should take some steps to make these people an asset to the State. I think most of them would be very glad to be provided with some means of earning their own livelihood. I am not now referring to those who are entitled to workmen's compensation. I am speaking of those people who had no contract of service, and who had to fall back on national health insurance. I do not know of any other funds under which they can benefit. I think an effort should be made to train those people in some useful occupation. I am sure they would be more than anxious themselves to take up some employment. The older people could be taught something fitted to their physical capabilities. In that way they would cease to be a burden on the State, and would undoubtedly become an asset to it.
With regard to national health insurance, cases sometimes arise where men have been in insurable employment for 20 or 30 years and for some reason or other they go out of that employment. After the lapse of a year they cease to be insured persons, and they thereby forfeit their rights to benefits. I think the period of grace should be extended. Sometimes grave hardships are caused because the period is so short.