Vol. 252 No. 10
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will make funds available to pay unemployment benefit to former employees of a person (name supplied) in County Wicklow who had contributions for social welfare insurance deducted from his employees' wages for varying lengths of time of up to three years but who failed to stamp their insurance cards.
27.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare what action his Department has taken against a person (name supplied) in County Wicklow who failed to stamp the insurance cards of his employees for approximately three years before his firm closed down in September-October, 1970.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 27 together.
Unemployment benefit under the Social Welfare Acts is payable only out of the Social Insurance Fund established under those Acts and there are no other funds available for the purpose. Payment of unemployment benefit out of that fund cannot be made to insured persons who fail to satisfy the statutory contribution conditions for title to benefit. Where inability to satisfy these conditions is due to the failure or neglect of an employer to stamp the insurance cards of an employee—whether or not the employee's share of the contributions has been deducted from his wages— and the employee has lost benefit as a result, the employee is statutorily entitled to recover the benefit so lost from the employer. I am empowered, on the request of the claimant concerned, to take recovery action on his behalf in such circumstances.
My Department has taken all action open to it to recover the arrears of contributions due by the employer to whom these questions relate. Some of the arrears have been collected and civil proceedings have been initiated for recovery of the outstanding balance. The Chief State Solicitor has also been asked to take summary proceedings for offences arising out of the employer's failure to pay the contributions.
As far as is known at present, four former employees of this employer have been disallowed unemployment benefit as a result of the non-payment of their contributions. I am having their claims urgently reviewed in the light of amending regulations which were made on the 8th instant to see whether any of these claimants—two of whom are receiving unemployment asistance—can be made eligible for unemployment benefit from that date through the grant of credits in respect of weeks for which contributions are outstanding. As I indicated to the House last week, the amending regulations are an interim measure designed to alleviate this problem of loss of benefits pending the introduction of amending legislation, which I intend to promote at the earliest opportunity, to deal with the situation more effectively.
Can the Minister say how soon he will be in a position to give a decision on these four applicants?
I would hope within the next few days.
