asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the fact that athletes who are on unemployment assistance and unemployment benefit and who represent Ireland in other countries are refused benefit on the basis that they are not available for work; whether he is aware that this is unfair and leaves Irish athletes at a major disadvantage in relation to opponents from other countries many of whom are paid on a full time basis during training and trips abroad; if he will give favourable consideration to remove this by regulations to provide that athletes can sign before or after travel and be paid normal benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Welfare Benefit.
28.
The Deputy may be aware that last month I dealt with a specific question tabled about the position of unemployed athletes chosen to represent Ireland in the Olympic Games in Korea later this year. My reply was to the effect that such athletes would be accommodated within the unemployment payments schemes for the period spent abroad in connection with the games and would accordingly be paid their unemployment payments entitlements for the relevant period. In the course of that reply I stated that in normal circumstances unemployed persons who go abroad are not entitled to receive payment of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance; that I had, however, always adopted a flexible approach in relation to entitlement to unemployment payments generally, that claimants could participate in various activities without affecting their entitlements so long as they continued to be in the labour market and continued to be available for and genuinely seeking work. I cited examples of those activities as participation in part time education courses and voluntary work projects. I also stated that claimants were allowed to take two weeks holidays in the State without affecting their entitlements.
This is a more general question in that it does not deal with a specific international sporting competition. I recognise, however, that athletes representing their country must put a great deal of time and effort into reaching the high standard required to compete at international level. In the case of unemployed people this standard would have been achieved while the claimant continued to be in the labour market. I believe it would be unfair in such instances if the person concerned were not entitled to payment for the short period during which he or she was participating in the particular international competition abroad.
Accordingly, I can inform the Deputy that any unemployed athlete who is selected by a recognised sporting organisation to represent Ireland abroad and who applies for continued payment of unemployment benefit or assistance for the period of his or her participation will continue to receive their unemployment payments. The individual circumstances will no doubt vary from case to case, but measures such as adequate advance notice and verification of participation from the relevant sporting authority will be necessary.
The Deputy may be aware that I recently announced that in future unemployed people representing Ireland at international sporting events will be allowed to continue to receive their unemployment payments. In fact, earlier this week the first two applicants under the new arrangements were given approval to continue receiving their unemployment payments while representing Ireland in the 14 day cycling Tour of Britain which begins this weekend. I know the Deputy will join with me in wishing them every success.
I thank the Minister for a very positive reply to my question. I would like to draw to his attention a young man in my own town of Drogheda who was part of the Irish boxing team and has represented Ireland on eight occasions. He is a young married man and each time he went to sign for unemployment assistance he was refused under existing regulations. I would ask the Minister to give sympathetic consideration to that case and I am sure there are many other cases. Arising from the Minister's reply, will the Minister issue a regulation or instruction to the managers in employment exchanges, as soon as possible, so that there can be no misunderstanding about the announcement today?
That is being done. Last Friday was the day when the new arrangements came into force and I commented on them on Monday in Galway. At the time I had not known about the Deputy's question, but it is very relevant. As the Deputy is aware, we had some discussion on this matter previously and I was trying to discover how I could meet the requirements. In the first instance it was straightforward to meet the requirements in the case of people chosen for the Olympic Games; to go beyond that meant there was the problem of control. Now we have a definition that will go beyond that and cover people generally in sporting events. There is what has been going on during the past six weeks. It so happens that there are two members of the Olympic squad going out this weekend. There are ten on the Olympic cycling squad, three of whom will be selected eventually; but two members of that squad are going out to compete in the Tour of Britain. They are Paul McCormack and Michael Walsh, two cyclists, and they are benefiting under the new arrangements. If the Deputy gives me information about the person representing Ireland on the boxing team, I will examine the case. There is a difficulty dealing retrospectively, as the Deputy will understand.
Deputy McCartan mentioned a case some time ago of people going to an EC poverty programme meeting who were unemployed here. Other arrangements were made for them and they were actually covered, but in a different way. The other question which arises is whether it is necessary to make regulations and bring in legislation. Before doing that I would like to see, in practice, what way such legislation might be phrased if we are to amend the legislation. At present that interpretation is acceptable.