I move:—
That the Social Welfare (Insurance Inclusions and Exclusions) Regulations, 1952, proposed to be made by the Minister for Social Welfare and laid in draft, sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, before Dáil Éireann on the 4th day of December, 1952, under sub-section (6) of Section 4 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952, be approved.
As regards this Order, I do not think that Nos. 1, 2 and 3 give any difficulty, and so I can go on to No. 4. We are including, for the purposes of insurance, court messengers. They are a very small class, and are in the peculiar position that they are neither established civil servants nor have they what might be regarded as a contract of services. It is considered by the Department of Justice that they should be entitled to the ordinary benefits of the social welfare scheme, and, therefore, we are including them for all benefits.
The second point about No. 4 has to do with those who are employed by way of manual labour in any employment, but whose remuneration is over £600 a year. The present law will continue until the 1st January next. At present national health insurance, unemployment benefits and widows' pensions apply to all manual workers— it does not matter what the earnings may be—and it applies to non-manual workers up to £500 a year. I should say that when we were drawing up this Act the Government decided that the ceiling should be raised from £500 to £600 for non-manual workers, but, owing to a certain amount of confusion, I suppose, that particular provision would appear to apply to manual workers also, although that is not very certain legally. To put it on the safe side, anyway, it has been provided here that manual workers will be included irrespective of earnings and non-manual workers up to £600 a year where there is a contract of service. I come now to Section 5, that is those who are excluded. I think that we will not have much difficulty with regard to the first three, that is coroners or deputy coroners, public analysts or superintendent registrars or registrars of births, deaths and marriages. They have always been excluded.
As to paragraph (d) "persons pursuant to the provisions of Section 25 or Section 34 of the Public Assistance Act, 1939," the employment here referred to is the work which may be required from a person as a condition of the granting of general assistance to that person by a public authority. Personally, I do not think there is any such think being done now, but it may be in some very few cases. Deputies who are as old as I am will remember that many years ago if a man went to a workhouse for his night's lodgings he had to work in the morning to pay for it, but I think these conditions have largely disappeared from our institutions. In case, however, there is any work to be done, as is being done by inmates in county homes, who do a bit of work around the grounds, it would not be regarded as a contract of service.
Section (e) is "sick or disabled persons, with a view to the rehabilitation of such persons". In answer to a question to-day I stated that there had been a certain amount of good work done in this country by voluntary organisations for the rehabilitation especially of tubercular patients. I was not satisfied that this task could ever be adequately done by voluntary efforts, and that some help will have to be given to these voluntary organisations. Those who have read the White Paper on the health services will notice in one paragraph that the Government are giving consideration to this matter. In such cases, at least in the early stages, the work done could not be regarded as under contract of service and, therefore, insurance would not apply. Of course, when they get regular work, even though it may be only part-time, as it would be in most of these cases, and they are paid a regular wage, they would then enter into the class where a contract of service would be applicable.
The next is contract of service for apprenticeship; contracts for services where the employment is of one person and is by way of manual labour and personal services given by the employed person. It is intended to exclude all contract work of a general nature such as building contracts. Subparagraph (ii) is designed for the case of the individual carter who has one horse and cart and does work for a local authority or, for that matter, for anybody else if it is by contract. At the moment there is frequently difficulty in deciding whether or not such a man works under a contract of service and by leaving such contracts for service within the scope of the Act it is hoped to make all such carters insurable.
We go on to say that we leave out ministers of religion, a person in Holy Orders or a person living in a religious community. As Deputies will realise, there are clergymen working under contracts of service; for instance, those who are teaching, but the great majority do not work under a contract of service and in all probability some of these people would come under the definition of having less than £600 a year. It would be so difficult to decide who comes under the Act or who does not that it is thought preferable and, I think, with the approval of the great majority of those concerned, that they should be all left out. I think the definition here covers them all because it gives those in Holy Orders, ministers of religion or persons living in a religious community. Those in teaching orders, like the Christian Brothers, would be excluded from the Act.
Then we leave out also those who are registered or provisionally registered as medical practitioners. Under an Order made recently by the Minister for Health it will be necessary for those who qualify in medicine in the near future to do a year's further training in a hospital. They will be provisionally registered during that time, but they will certainly be paid less than £600 a year. If this were not put in these persons would have to pay their contributions during that 12 months, but it is unlikely that they would come within the definition afterwards and it would be rather senseless, therefore, to make them pay contributions for that particular year when they are not likely to derive any benefit afterwards. Of course, the same would apply to dentists. That covers the various classes included in this Order who are either brought into insurance or excluded.