asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will make a statement regarding future social welfare payments by and the benefits to a person earning £1,600 per annum.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Welfare Payments.
79.
A person employed under a contract of service and earning £1,600 per annum is insurable under the Social Welfare Acts. The contributions payable in respect of him and the benefits for which he is covered depend on the class of employment. For example, persons in industrial, commercial and services type employment pay the ordinary rate of contribution and are covered for all benefits under the Acts. These benefits are unemployment and disability benefit, invalidity, widows', orphans', retirement and old age pensions, marriage, maternity, deserted wife's and treatment benefit, death grant and occupational injuries benefit. Persons in permanent and pensionable employment in the public sector such as civil servants, employees of local and public authorities and teachers, et cetera, pay special rates of contributions and are covered for widows' and orphans' pensions and occupational injuries benefits only.
These existing contributions and benefits are flat rate only. The proposed pay-related benefits scheme will provide a benefit related to pay to supplement the existing flat rate benefits payable during sickness and unemployment. The additional contribution to finance this scheme will also be related to pay. The collection of pay-related contributions and the payment of benefit will both commence at the beginning of April, 1974.
It has been taken that the Deputy's question relates only to services administered by the Department of Social Welfare.
Will persons over the £1,600 be eligible for hospital benefits?
The question and the reply are both related to benefits administered by the Department of Social Welfare. The supplementary question of the Deputy applies to the Minister and the Department of Health.
Might I ask the Parliamentary Secretary if he is creating a disparity by having one class of employee, those entitled to pensions, excluded from the very large list of benefits available to another section?
That is a separate question.
Perhaps I have not made myself clear. Is the proposal the Parliamentary Secretary read out discriminatory? In other words, does it give greater benefits to one class of employee as against another class, admittedly for a lower contribution? Does it?
In what way?
There appears to be a series of questions.
Did I understand the Parliamentary Secretary to say that the second category of workers receive nothing by way of benefits in return for contributions other than widows' and orphans' pensions and sickness benefit as against the long list he read out of a large number of benefits?
The Deputy is asking his question as if this was the first time he had ever heard of this particular arrangement. This has been the arrangement right down the years.
Over the £1,600 income.
Over the 16 years the Deputy's party were in Government, never mind the £1,600.