asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will now indicate when he intends to introduce proposals for legislation to amend the Workmen's Compensation Act, and to increase the weekly and other payments made available under the Act.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Workmen's Compensation Act.
I am not yet in a position to announce a decision in this matter.
Surely it is not treating applicants in these cases fairly that nothing has been done in this matter over a number of years? I think it is rather strange that we should appear to be quite happy about a matter of this kind. I am sure the Minister saw in the newspapers the other day the report of a case in which the mother of a family of nine young children, whose husband was killed off a scaffolding, was awarded a sum of £600, but the widow, herself, could get only £180 of that. Surely it is a shame that we should have to wait for a number of years before any steps are taken to increase benefits under the Workmen's Compensation Act?
That is a separate question.
Can we have any indication from the Minister as to when legislative proposals will be introduced to provide some measure of redress for those people?
The Deputy surely must realise that this is not such a simple matter in view of the fact that every Minister for Social Welfare so far has found it difficult to deal with.
It is not such a difficult problem that something could not be done to increase the benefits under the Workmen's Compensation Act. In the case that I have referred to, all that that widow, with her family of nine children, could get under the Act was £600.