asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of occasions during the past five years on which social welfare recipients have taken cases against his Department regarding the non-payment of all or part of any benefit to which they claimed to be entitled; the issue at stake in each such case; the number of cases decided at the High Court (i) in favour of his Department and (ii) in favour of the claimant; the number of such cases appealed to the Supreme Court by (1) his Department and (2) the claimant; the number of each decided in favour of (a) his Department and (b) the claimant; and the estimated cost to his Department in terms of legal fees of these cases.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefit Law Cases.
81.
While detailed statistics were not maintained during all of the period in question it has been established from the information available that 19 cases were taken against the Minister during the past 5 years regarding the non-payment of benefit. The issues involved were as follows: (a) entitlement of unemployment assistance recipients under the national fuel scheme; (b) entitlement to prescribed relatives allowance; (c) entitlement to unmarried mothers allowance; (d) entitlement to deserted wife's payment (2 cases); (e) entitlement to widows pension (2 cases); (f) entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance; (g) entitlement to old age contributory pension; (h) basis of calculation of pay-related benefit; (i) entitlements of married couples where one spouse is in receipt of a social insurance payment and the other is in receipt of unemployment assistance; (j) application of overlapping benefit provisions; (k) procedures followed by deciding officers in relation to claims for unemployment assistance; (l) retrospective payments arising from the implementation of EC Directive 79/7 on equal treatment between men and women in matters of social security (six cases).
Thirteen cases were decided by the High Court including three which concerned EC Directive 79/7. Of the remaining six cases, the actions were withdrawn by the applicants in two cases, one case was not defended by the Minister and three have not yet been heard by the High Court. Of the cases decided, three were decided in favour of the Minister and ten in favour of the applicant. Four of these cases were appealed to the Supreme Court, two by the applicants and two by the Minister. The Supreme Court found in favour of the applicant in three cases and the appeal has not yet been heard in the fourth case.
The bulk of the expenditure on legal fees is borne on the Vote of the Office of the Attorney General. Other costs are borne on the Vote of my Department. Records are not maintained in either office, however, in such a way as would enable expenditure arising in relation to court cases of this kind to be readily identified.