I asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance to-day, whether any grant would be made available for the relief of unemployment in the districts of Swords, Lusk, Skerries and Balbriggan and, subsequent to some irrelevant interruptions, the Parliamentary Secretary made what I considered to be an unsatisfactory reply. He stated that on the 1st November the number of unemployed in these areas registered at the labour exchanges was returned as eight. I do not know how the officials of the Department concerned calculated these figures, because I was in Balbriggan yesterday afternoon and I met at least 70 men who were unemployed. When I say 70 I am not applying the Fianna Fáil magnifying glass to the figures. I am talking about the actual number of men I met and spoke to who were registered as unemployed.
Private Deputies' Business. - Adjournment Debate—County Dublin Unemployment.
It is a damn shame for you after three years.
If it comes to a question as to the unemployment existing now and when the previous administration was in office, I would advise the Deputy not to go into that, because he will come out on the wrong side, and very much on the wrong side. We do not have any hunger marches now.
They have all gone away.
I can prove that while the present situation is undoubtedly serious, at the same time since the advent of this Government unemployment in the areas to which I refer has been reduced by about 50 per cent. The present position results from a seasonal occurrence in the area. In the districts surrounding Balbriggan, Lusk, Swords and Skerries there is a good deal of agricultural cultivation. The farmers in that area—who, I might mention, give a half-holiday to the workers every week and do a great amount of tillage, relatively a greater amount of tillage than is done in any other part of the country—employ ordinarily a large number of agricultural workers but when the threshings are finished, the mills come in off the road, as is the case in every agricultural area, and there is seasonal unemployment for a period of from a month to three months.
They give them three months' holidays without pay.
I know they give them three months' hard labour in East Cork. In fact, they give them a lifetime of hard labour in Corryland, as it has been called, and it is a pretty extensive tract of country, as I am well aware. However, I want to devote the time at my disposal this evening to the plight of the unemployed workers in Balbriggan, Skerries, Lusk and Swords. I understand that the Dublin County Council which is constantly concerned with unemployment problems as they arise, has been notified that grants will be made available from the special employment scheme fund to amounts, approximately, of £500 odd in the case of Balbriggan, and £200 odd in the case of Swords. I want to point out to the Parliamentary Secretary that these grants are totally inadequate to deal with the problem in these areas. The present unemployment is of an unusual nature and of unusual dimensions. In Balbriggan, which is one of the largest towns in my constituency, a good deal of building work was in progress up to quite recently. Houses were being built for the working classes—houses about which they had been hearing for years but which were not built until the last year or so by the present Administration. That work is now stopped and we are awaiting plans for a further building scheme in Balbriggan, which means there is a valley period in regard to unemployment.
I am aware of the fact that grants for the relief of unemployment are determined, to some extent at any rate, by the number of workers in receipt of unemployment assistance and registered at the labour exchange in a particular area. The number registered, as everybody knows, never reflects the true position in relation to unemployment. It does not take into account the number of workers who may have become only recently unemployed and who are in receipt of unemployment benefit. Wherever the fault lies, there is something there which should be corrected, because I am not the only Deputy who has complained on the score of the calculation of unemployment figures where grants of this sort are concerned. In each of the areas to which I have referred, there is liable to be a good deal of hardship and there is a considerable amount of hardship at present amongst unemployed workers. It is, I admit, a transient condition. We in North County Dublin do not like looking for grants for unemployment because ordinarily there is sufficient employment available to keep our people at work. If the records are checked by the Parliamentary Secretary, he will find that there is no public assistance area in the country which has sought less for the relief of unemployment as the particular area of which I am now speaking. I think, therefore, that when a situation of this kind develops it should receive special consideration.
The consideration for which I am asking is that sufficient grants should be made available to the Dublin County Council to ensure that for this valley period during which there is unemployment—between harvest and spring and between the completion of one housing scheme and the start of another—work will be provided for these men. I think that is a very reasonable request, a request that should be acceded to in view of the fact that to my certain knowledge the demands made by the Dublin County Council in respect of this type of problem are very small. So far as I am aware the actual figures for unemployment in these areas are, 70 in Balbriggan, 30 at Skerries, roughly 20 in the Lusk area and between 40 and 50 in Swords. These are the actual figures for the unemployed; they are not confined to persons in receipt of unemployment assistance. These are the up-to-date figures. The Parliamentary Secretary should remember that a number of workers would have had to sign at the labour exchange since the 1st November, which is a considerable time ago.
The 1st November is the date to which the Parliamentary Secretary referred in his reply to my question. I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary to indicate, in reply to my reasonable request to-day, whether or not his Department will be prepared to make adequate provision, not the niggardly provision which is proposed and which we were used to in years gone by, which would give a man only a couple of days work in a week. I would ask him to make adequate provision for the men to ensure that they can be put to work immediately on useful, constructive work, such as the widening of dangerous roads. There are important trunk roads in County Dublin which need widening. There will be no dearth of schemes. They are not schemes which will provide merely an excuse for expenditure of money in order to relieve unemployment. They are schemes which will provide lasting benefit to County Dublin and the country as a whole. I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary, therefore, will he now assure me that steps will be taken to make adequate grants available to relieve these distressed workers.
I notice that Deputy Dunne said that the area in question is the one area that never causes trouble or looks for assistance. I want to point out to him that 12 months ago a question was raised on the Adjournment in connection with this area and there has not been a question raised since that in connection with any other area. Therefore, to me at least, that area is causing a certain amount of trouble. I am surprised at Deputy Dunne. We are responsible for unemployment assistance. We are not responsible for unemployment benefit. I want to make that plain.
Two grants have been allocated—a grant for Balbriggan town and Balbriggan rural electoral division, of £530, and a grant in the Swords area, of £280. Work will commence in a few days. I would like to know where Deputy Dunne got his figures.
From the men concerned.
Men who are registered unemployed?
Yes. They gave a list. The list I have is of yesterday.
Yesterday, the Department went to the local labour exchanges in the area. May I tell Deputy Dunne the number of men registered at the local offices?
I would be glad if you would.
In Lusk town, unemployment assistance, 1; Lusk electoral division, unemployment assistance, 3.
These figures refer only to unemployment assistance.
Lusk town, unemployment assistance, 1; unemployment benefit, 2—total, 3. Lusk electoral division, unemployment assistance, 3; unemployment benefit, 3—total, 6, for three of which we are not responsible. Rush town, unemployment assistance, 1; unemployment benefit, 1—total, 2, one of which is our responsibility. Rush electoral division, unemployment assistance, 2; unemployment benefit, 9 nil. Skerries town, unemployment assistance, 1; unemployment benefit, 9 —we are not responsible for the nine. Skerries electoral division, nil. Holmpatrick electoral division, nil.
What is the difference?
The difference is our Vote. The Dáil votes the money.
Would you mind giving us the figures for Balbriggan?
I gave you particulars for Balbriggan—a grant of £530.
How many are unemployed?
Roughly, 23 at that time.
At what time?
At that time. If the Deputy can make a case that in Balbriggan there is necessity for more work for these unemployment assistance people, I am the man and mine is the Department that will provide it, as we provided it 12 months ago. I am sorry that the Deputy raised the question. I do not like to go into these figures. These are the figures from the local labour exchanges as of yesterday's date. I am bound, according to the rules and regulations laid down by the Dáil, to spend the money according to the number of registered unemployed in the area. Our Department is doing that as fairly as it is possible to do it, and if Deputy Dunne or any other Deputy says to us that, instead of there being one registered in Lusk town, there are ten or 15 registered now, the Department will come to their aid, as is regulated by the rules laid down by Dáil Éireann.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary tell me what was the total figure for unemployed in Balbriggan as of yesterday?
We did not need to look it up for the simple reason that we have given a grant of £530 to spend amongst them.
You did not look it up?
No.
The Dáil adjourned at 10.45 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Thursday, 23rd November, 1950