When will the next stage be taken?
Committee on Finance. - Social Welfare (Children's Allowances) Bill, 1952—Committee and Final Stages.
Bill put through Committee and reported without amendment.
If the Dáil agrees, I should like to take them now.
Agreed.
Question proposed: "That the Bill be received for final consideration."
Has the Minister decided whether he would leave it open to people to draw the children's allowances weekly or is it still to be confined to monthly payments?
I shall deal with that on the next stage.
Question put and agreed to.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
The point raised by Deputy Hickey was considered, but it would be impossible to have the two systems in operation. We must have either one or the other. In my speech on the Second Reading I gave what I thought was good reason for resorting to the monthly system of payment, that it was really an encouragement to people to do some saving and to have some substantial sum for meeting payments that would not be regarded as ordinary weekly payments, such as buying boots or shoes for children or things of that kind. It might be possible also to encourage the better-off people to go a little further in regard to savings. I was anxious to encourage them to put money into savings certificates by making some arrangement later on under which the money would be paid into a certain account for that purpose. The whole idea is to encourage people to save.
Question put and agreed to.