asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state the cause of the delay in paying unemployment benefit to a person (particulars supplied) who made application over six weeks ago.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Delay in Payment of Unemployment Benefit.
The delay was primarily due to the failure of the claimant's last employer to reply to the usual request for confirmation of and other particulars relating to the employment. This necessitated departmental investigation of the claim which has since been completed and the claim allowed.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary admit that it is unfair that an employer should have to be written to two or three times and that the employee should have to wait for six or seven weeks, as he did on this occasion?
In this case it was discovered when the social welfare officer went to investigate that the employer was sick.
I understood it was usual to send a letter to the employer and the employer replied to that, admitting the claim. In this instance he had to be written to two or three times.
The decision to hold up unemployment benefit in respect of claimants stated to have had agricultural employment until the usual inquiry form had been returned showing the claimant as having been employed was necessary because of the serious increase in fraudulent claiming of such benefit by agricultural workers generally. A reminder is sent to the employer on the fourth day after the original inquiry and, if that does not secure a reply, direct inquiries by an official of the Department are initiated forthwith. Normally, these are completed with the minimum delay. In this case the illness of the employer created a difficulty.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary ensure that applicants for unemployment benefit will not have to wait in future for seven weeks? If the farmer keeps throwing the query form into the fire the claim will never be paid.