Children's Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 1946—Report and Final Stage.
I move amendment No. 1:—
In page 2, Section 3, to delete all words after the word "Act" in line 30 to the end of the section.
This amendment is put down, not with a view to being carried but to give the Minister an opportunity of correcting two contradictory statements which he made. The House should know which is the correct interpretation. The statements refer to the manner in which it is proposed to operate the Bill. I refer the Minister to column 735 of last week's debate, in which I said at one stage: "The Minister is going to make a new category, as he said himself, of groups by counties." The Minister replied: "No." He then went on in the next column: "I want to say that those that are in that category of new claimants cannot be grouped on a geographical basis." I refer the Minister to column 442 of the Dáil Debates, where exactly the same point was raised. The Minister then said: "If the claimant is admitted as having a proper claim under the Act, he will, of course, be put into the group to which he belongs according to the location of his residence." It is quite clear that those two statements are incompatible. I put down this amendment in order that we may learn the basis on which the scheme is to be worked in future and to get an explanation from the Minister.
I do not think that any explanation is necessary. Only the Senator would see any contradiction in the statements. New claimants as such are not on any geographical basis but, as soon as their claims are accepted and they are admitted to the scheme, they are no longer new claimants. A person may claim an allowance from any part of the country on any qualifying date. When his claim is admitted and he becomes a recipient of the children's allowance, then he is allocated to the group appropriate to his place of residence.
The Minister has merely indulged in a couple of sentences of casuistry. That is the only word which describes it. If the Minister takes the trouble to read his speeches last week in this House, he will see that we were dealing with new claimants—before their claims were admitted and after they were admitted. It now appears from the Minister's statement that, once claims are admitted, they are to be grouped geographically. They are not to be grouped until admitted. A claim, until admitted, is not a claim which could be put in the category provided by Section 3 of the Bill. Once it is admitted, it is to be dealt with geographically, which is what I intended all along.
The 1st October is the qualifying date for two categories of persons—(1) claimants in a particular geographical area already in receipt of children's allowances and (2) new claimants from anywhere. As soon as new claimants are admitted to the scheme, they will be allocated to the appropriate group and the second qualifying date will be whatever is the prescribed date for their group.
The Minister cannot make a category until the claim has been admitted?
Therefore, a new claimant is not in any group until he is admitted.
And last week the Minister said that all new claimants would be in one group for the whole country.
New claimants all over the country will be in one group.
It is quite useless to carry on the discussion with the Minister, because he has contradicted himself again.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Government amendment No. 2:—
In page 3, Section 5, sub-section (2), paragraph (a), line 7, to delete the words "normally resides" and substitute instead the words "shall be regarded as normally residing".
Senator Ryan suggested last day that the wording of Section 5 should be amended in this manner. On examination, I agree with the Senator that this will improve the wording.
Amendment agreed to.
Government amendment No. 3:—
In page 3, to insert at the end of Section 5 a new sub-section as follows:—
(3) Rules prescribed under sub-section (2) of this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are prescribed, and if a resolution is passed by either House of the Oireachtas within the next subsequent 21 days on which that House has sat after the rules are laid before it annulling the rules, the rules shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the rules.
I promised to have this amendment introduced arising out of the discussion which took place on Committee Stage.
Amendment agreed to.
Government amendment No. 4:—
In page 4, to delete Section 9 and substitute instead the following section:—
9.—A prosecution for an offence under Section 12 of the Act of 1944, as amended by this Act, may be brought at any time within whichever of the following periods later expires, that is to say.—
(a) three months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the Minister to justify a prosecution for the offence comes to his knowledge, or
(b) twelve months after the commission of the offence,
and a certificate under the official seal of the Minister as to the date on which such evidence comes to his knowledge shall be conclusive evidence thereof.
It was suggested that the provisions of this Bill should correspond with the provisions of the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act in respect of the time limit for prosecutions. I have had the matter examined and there appears to be no reason why shorter periods should not operate.
Amendment agreed to.
Agreed to take the remaining stage now.
Bill received for final consideration and passed.
Ordered: That the Bill be returned to the Dáil with amendments.
