Tairgim:
Go ndeonófar suim fhoirlíontach nach mó ná £10 chun íoctha an mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31ú lá de Mhárta, 1963, le haghaidh Tuarastail agus Costais Oifig an Aire Leasa Shóisialaigh.
Mar is eol do Theactaí, d'aontaíodh meastacháin mo Roinne-se i mí Iúil seo chaite gan aon díospóireacht. Tá Meastachán Foirlíontach á thabhairt ós comhair na Dála anois chun caoí a thabhairt do Theachtaí cúrsaí leasa shóisialaigh a phlé.
Tá trí Meastacháin le h-aghaidh na seirbhísí as a bhfuil mo Roinn-se freagarthach, mar atá, Vóta 51-Oifig an Aire, Vóta 52—Árachas Sóisialach agus Vóta 53—Cúnamh Sóisialach. 'Sé suim iomlán na dtrí Meastachán seo ná £26,001,600. Beidh suim bhreise ag teastáil le h-aghaidh seirbhísí na Roinne sa bhliain seo nuair a chiurtear san áireamh costas na bhfeabhsanna ins na scéimeanna leasa shóisialaigh a fhógair an tAire Airgeadais san Cháinaisnéis, agus a reachtaíodh in Acht Leasa Shóisialaigh na bliana seo. Tabharfar Meastacháin Fhoirlíontacha ós comhair na Dála níos déanaí chun an t-airgead bhreise a chur ar fáil.
Tá iomlán na dtrí Meastachán níos mó de £87,700 ná iomlán na dtrí Vótaí seo anuraidh mar aon leis an Vóta Fhoirlíontach le £135,000 a deonadh sa bhliain sin le h-aghaidh Cúnaimh Sóisialaigh.
I gcás Vóta 51—Oifig an Aire Leasa Shóisialaigh — is faoi FoMhírcheann A atá an deifríocht is mó i gcomparáid leis an bhliain roimheseo. Táthar ag lorg £98,000 sa bhreis faoin Fho-Mhírcheann seo de bhrí gur méadaíodh rátaí tuarastail oifigeach na Roinne i rith na bliana seo chaite.
San Meastacháin le h-aghaidh Árachais Shóisialaigh, táthar ag lorg £6,241,000 ón Stát-Chiste, sé sin laghdú de £80,000 i gcomparáid leis an bhliain 1961-62. Séard is cúis leis an laghdú ná go bhfuiltear ag súil le £462,000 sa bhreis san ioncam ó rannaíocaí árachais shóisialaigh sa bhliain seo. Meastar go mbeidh an chaiteachas níos mó chomh maith, mar shompla, £153,000 sa bhreis ar Shochar Mhíchumais, £96,000 ar Shochar Cóireála, agus £102,000 ar Phinsin Ranníocha Baintrí.
I gcás Cúnaimh Shóisialaigh—Vóta 53, tá an ghlan mheastachán níos mó de £129,000 ná an méid a deonadh le h-aghaidh na bliana 1961-62 agus an Meastachán Foirlíontach de £135,000 le h-aghaidh na bliana sin a chur san áireamh. Séard is cúis leis an méadú ná go bhfuil costas na bhfeabhsanna a rinneadh ins na scéimeanna Cúnaimh Shóisialaigh le h-éifeacht ó thosach mí Lúnasa 1961 iníochta ar feadh na bliana seo go léir. Cosnóidh na feabhsanna seo £250,000 sa bhreis ar a gcostas sa bhliain seo chaite, nuair nach raibh siad i bhfeidhm ach ar feadh ocht mí. Táthar ag súil áfach le spáráil faoi Fho-Mhírchinn Áirithe, agus dá bhrígh sin ní rachaidh an bhreis costas thar £129,000.
Faoi Fho-Mhírcheann A — Pinsin Seanaoise — tá méadú de £182,000, ach nuair a cuirtear an Meastachán Foirlíontach san áireamh níl ach £42,000 sa bhreis dá lorg i mbliana. Bhéadh níos mó ag teastáil faoin Fho-Mhírcheann seo murach go bhfuil laghdú i líon na bpinsinéiri de thoradh na scéimeanna pinsean ranníochach.
Tá méadú de £94,000 faoi Fho-Mhírcheann D — Pinsin Neamhranníocacha Baintreach agus Dílleachtaí, ach nuair a chuirtear an Meastachán Foirlíontach san áireamh, táthar ag lorg £1,000 níos lú ná an t-iomlán a deonadh anuraidh.
Sa mhéid atá ráite agam, do mhínigh mé na fáthanna is bun leis na príomh-athruithe idir na meastacháin don dá bhliain atá i gceist. Más mian le Teachtaí a thuille eolais d'fháil ar sheirbhísí áirithe, tabharfaidh mé dhóibh é.
As the House is aware, the three Estimates for my Department were passed without discussion last July. The purpose of this Supplementary Estimate for a token sum of £10 is to provide an opportunity for discussion now and it will be open to Deputies to raise points on any of the three Votes.
The three Estimates and the amounts provided by the Exchequer for the year 1962-63 are—
|
Vote 51—Office of the Minister for Social Welfare |
£532,600 |
|
Vote 52—Social Insurance |
£6,279,000 |
|
Vote 53—Social Assistance |
£19,190,000 |
I should like to make it clear that the sums mentioned for social insurance and social assistance do not take account of the cost of the improvements in the social insurance schemes and the increases in the social assistance rates announced by the Minister for Finance in the Budget Statement and given effect to in the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1962. The necessary provision for these will be made by way of Supplementary Estimates later in the financial year.
The total of the three Estimates, apart from the token sum of £10, is £26,001,600, an increase of £87,700 on the total of £25,913,900 for these Votes for the previous year, including a Supplementary Vote of £135,000 for Social Assistance.
In the Estimate for the Office of the Minister for Social Welfare a net sum of £532,600 was provided to meet the salaries and other administration expenses borne on that Vote. The main variations, as compared with the previous year's Vote, are an increase of £98,000 for salaries and wages under Subhead A and an increase of £64,660 under the Appropriations in Aid subhead.
The increase on Subhead A is mainly due to the pay increases granted to civil servants with effect from various dates last year. The Department's costs of administering the social insurance scheme are chargeable to the Social Insurance Fund. These costs are met in the first instance from the Vote for the Office of the Minister for Social Welfare, but the Vote is recouped from the Fund through the Appropriations in Aid subhead. The increase of £64,660 under this subhead is mainly due to the increased provisions for salaries and wages of staff administering social insurance schemes.
In the Estimate for Social Insurance, provision was made under Subhead A for payment by the Exchequer into the Social Insurance Fund of the estimated amount by which the expenditure of the Fund will exceed its income in 1962-63. The estimated amount was £6,241,000, a decrease of £80,000 on the provision for 1961-62.
The expenditure of the Fund in 1962-63 was estimated at £17,719,000 made up as follows:—
|
£ |
|
|
Old Age (Contributory) Pensions |
4,650,000 |
|
Disability Benefit |
4,899,000 |
|
Widows' and Orphans' (Contributory) Pensions |
3,281,000 |
|
Unemployment Benefit |
2,760,000 |
|
Treatment Benefit |
430,000 |
|
Maternity Benefit |
137,000 |
|
Marriage Grant |
76,000 |
|
Administration |
1,486,000 |
|
Total |
17,719,000 |
The income of the Social Insurance Fund in 1962-63 was estimated at £11,478,000. It consists of £10,750,000 from employment contributions, £613,000 in income from investments of the Fund and £115,000 in receipts under reciprocal arrangements.
The decrease of £80,000 in the amount of the Exchequer contribution as compared with 1961-62 is the net result of variations, up and down, in the items constituting the expenditure and income of the Fund.
On the expenditure side, the main increases are £153,000 for disability benefit, £102,000 for widows' and orphans' (contributory) pensions, £96,000 for treatment benefit and £100,000 for administration costs, offset by a reduction of £65,000 in the provision for unemployment benefit.
The increases for disability benefit and treatment benefit were based on expenditure in 1961-62, which shows a rising trend. The increase in the requirement for widows' and orphans' (contributory) pensions is due to an anticipated continuing rise in the number of widows' contributory pensions in 1962-63. The reduction in the provision for unemployment benefit was based on experience in 1961-62.
The increase of £100,000 in the provision for administration costs is mainly due to the Civil Service pay increases already mentioned. On the income side, the total Estimate shows an increase of £463,000 over the previous year's provision. This increase is almost entirely due to estimated additional income from employment contributions.
As regards social assistance, the net Estimate for 1962-63 is £19,190,000, an increase of £129,000 on the provision for 1961-62 including the Supplementary Vote of £135,000 for that year. I should mention that the figures shown in the 1961-62 columns in the Estimates Volume do not include the increases in last year's estimates rendered necessary by the improvements in the Assistance services which took effect from the beginning of August last year. These increases were voted in a Supplementary Estimate which was passed in March last after the Volume of Estimates was published. The net amount of the Supplementary Estimate for Social Assistance for 1961-62 was £135,000.
The increase of £129,000 on the revised provision for 1961-62 arises out of the necessity to provide for the cost of the increases in rates and other improvements granted from August, 1961, for the whole of 1962-63 as against eight months in 1961-62. These increases and improvements were estimated to cost an additional sum of £250,000 in 1962-63 compared with the cost in 1961-62. The increase on the 1961-62 provision would, therefore, have been £250,000 were it not for certain anticipated savings in 1962-63.
The provision of £9,182,000 for old age pensions is £182,000 higher than the original estimate for this subhead last year. The increase is, however, reduced to £42,000 when a supplementary provision of £140,000 for this service last year is taken into account. The increase is due to the provision for a full year for the rate increases and other improvements effected by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1961. The increase would have been greater but for a reduction in the number of non-contributory old age pensioners resulting from the continuing impact of the contributory pension schemes.
The provision of £1,100,000 for unemployment assistance in 1962-63 is £10,000 less than the provision of £1,110,000 in the original Vote for 1961-62, notwithstanding the fact that the estimate for unemployment assistance for 1962-63 includes £206,000 to cover the estimated cost in this year of the increases and concessions brought about by the 1961 Act already referred to. The reduced provision for 1962-63 was based on the improved unemployment position in 1961-62.
As regards widows' and orphans' non-contributory pensions, the provision of £1,842,000 for 1962-63 is £94,000 more than the original provision of £1,748,000 for this service in 1961-62 but £1,000 less than the revised provision of £1,843,000 effected by the Supplementary Estimate for that year. The decrease in the provision for 1962-63 is due to an anticipated continuance in this year of the downward trend in the number of non-contributory pensioners.
The provision of £338,000 for appropriations in aid in 1962-63 is little different from the original provision of £334,500 for the previous year. This latter figure was, however, altered to £435,000 by the Supplementary Estimate for 1961-62. The increase of approximately £100,000 in that year was mainly due to a large volume of adjustments between the Social Assistance Vote and the Social Insurance Fund in respect of interim payments of non-contributory old age pensions which arose in 1961-62 following the introduction of the old age contributory pensions scheme and the removal of the upper age limit of 70 years for widows' contributory pensions in January, 1961.
I have explained briefly the causes of the main variations between the provision for the current year and that for last year. I do not think it is necessary for me to go into the matter in any greater detail, but I will of course give Deputies any further particulars they may require in relation to specific items.
