asked the Minister or Social Welfare the appropriate amount payable per week from the Social Insurance Fund to (a) a single person, (b) a married person and (c) a married person with three children where incapacity of short duration is settled by (1) lump sum (£100) payment under the Workmen's Compensation Acts and (2) damages of £100 under a common law settlement, independently of the Workmen's Compensation Acts.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Insurance Payments.
15.
Under the Social Welfare Acts and Regulations disability benefit is not payable to a person for any period for which he receives or is entitled to receive compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Acts unless the weekly rate of benefit which would otherwise be payable exceeds the weekly rate of compensation, in which circumstances the difference between the two rates is payable as benefit.
Assuming that the weekly rate of compensation is the maximum rate of £4 10s. 0d. a week, a lump sum payment of £100 under the Workmen's Compensation Acts would cover a period of 22 weeks and 1 day at that rate. During this period a single person, a married person or a married person with three children could not qualify for any payment of disability benefit while incapable of work due to the accident for which he recovered compensation, because the maximum weekly rates of disability benefit in all three cases would be less than the weekly rate of compensation.
If damages of £100 were obtained under a Common Law settlement instead of under the Workmen's Compensation Acts, title to disability benefit would not be affected by the award, and payment of benefit would be made at the appropriate rate. The maximum weekly rates of benefit are as follows:—
|
£ |
s. |
d. |
||
|
(a) |
Single person |
1 |
12 |
6 |
|
(b) |
Married person with adult dependant |
2 |
12 |
6 |
|
(c) |
Married person with adult dependant and three qualified children |
3 |
17 |
6 |