asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he is aware of the severe hardship caused in many cases by the delay in payment of unemployment assistance, as applicants have to wait from three to six weeks during which time they have no income; and if he will take immediate steps to remedy this matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Payment of Unemployment Assistance.
32.
Procedures in relation to unemployment assistance applications are designed to ensure as far as possible that delay in payment, which is made weekly, is minimal.
Where an applicant is already the holder of a qualification certificate— possession of which is essential to the receipt of unemployment assistance— he should normally receive his first payment within a fortnight, even in those cases where the application is dealt with through the post owing to the person's distance from his local office. In these postal cases, however, delay may arise where it becomes necessary to return essential forms to the applicant for proper completion.
Where the applicant has not got a qualification certificate, the examination of means necessary to settle entitlement will usually, and unavoidably, prolong the period normally required for issue of the first payment. In these cases payment accrues, where appropriate, from the date of application. If there is hardship while first payment is awaited it is open to the applicant to seek home assistance, any payment of which may be recovered from any arrears of unemployment assistance subsequently payable.
I would like to add that my Department has always emphasised the advantages of making application for a qualification certificate in good time and points out in its publicity that application may be made even while a person is in employment.
Will the Minister agree that, no matter how the regulations are designed to ensure benefit to the applicant, in many cases, not only in Cork but throughout the country, public representatives on all sides of the House are familiar with complaints of hardship caused by a strict interpretation of the regulations whereby families are left hungry for weeks having to go from the home assistance officer to the St. Vincent de Paul Society and from there to their public representative to try to get subsistence to live?
I would not say that is general. I am sure there are cases of that kind, usually due to some very good reason, where the application is not straightforward or a mistake has occurred. The Deputy may be talking about persons making their original application for a qualification certificate. This is a different thing and, as the reply indicates, must entail a certain amount of delay. But we emphasise that persons, even while in employment, can apply for qualification certificates.
As a result of this discussion, perhaps the Minister would inform the House if it appears to him, as it appears to me, to be a simple issue to have this matter simplified in the applicant's favour?
If the Deputy had to go through a lot of these complaints, as I have, he would invariably find some definite reason why it is just not possible to have it paid in a straightforward way in a fortnight's time. Very often it is a question of correspondence back and forth in respect of applications requiring further information.