asked the Minister for Finance if he will state (a) the total number of workers employed by the Dublin Corporation from the 1st August, 1953, to date on special schemes for the relief of unemployment indicating the number employed in each week during the period; (b) the total expenditure incurred by the Dublin Corporation on such schemes out of moneys raised by the rates; and (c) the actual amount contributed to date by the Government towards the cost of such schemes; and, further, if he will indicate the number of workers which the Dublin Corporation proposes to employ on such special schemes during the period ending the 31st December, 1953, giving the proposed figures for each week up to date referred to above.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Special Employment Schemes.
I am informed that the total number of workers employed by the Dublin Corporation on schemes for the relief of unemployment financed partly from the Employments and Emergency Schemes Vote was 120 for week ended the 1st August, 1953. During the month of August this number increased to 357, of whom 296 were unemployment assistance recipients, and that number has been maintained in employment each week since then until the end of October. The expenditure incurred by the corporation during that period, I am informed, amounted to approximately £40,000. The practice, as no doubt the Deputy is aware, has always been for the corporation to meet the whole of this expenditure in the first instance and to secure recoupment subsequently of the Government share of the cost from the Employments and Emergency Schemes Vote. Hitherto the Dublin Corporation has met 30 per cent. of the expenditure on such schemes, the State providing the remaining 70 per cent. Owing to the exceptional circumstances of the current year the Government have agreed to meet 80 per cent. of the expenditure on all schemes approved for execution during the financial year 1953-54.
As I indicated in the discussions on the Estimate for Vote 10, on the 22nd and 27th October last, the Government authorised in July last the putting in hands in advance of the usual time of winter schemes costing approximately £60,000, and they propose to allocate additional money towards the cost of suitable employment schemes in Dublin County Borough for the remainder of the financial year.
Additional Dublin schemes for the relief of unemployment are under active consideration, including the list of works recently submitted by the Dublin Corporation to the Department of Local Government, but I am not yet in a position to state how many of these works will be approved or what the total grant to the Dublin Corporation will be for the current financial year. A statement in this connection will be made when the Supplementary Estimate for Vote 10 is being introduced. I am not at present in a position to give the detailed figures referred to in the last part of the Deputy's question.