I have raised the problem of the delay in the processing of applications for unemployment assistance by school leavers and students because many of them find that it is taking up to eight to ten weeks to have their applications processed for unemployment assistance. The economic hardship which this is bringing on themselves and their families is very serious. A ten week delay on a person's unemployment assistance claim before they receive notification of either payment or disqualification should not be tolerated by the people concerned or their families nor by the Minister of State. Most of the people who are making an application for unemployment assistance are genuinely unemployed and the number of school leavers who have been able to pick up summer jobs this year is very small. The net result is that their families, who are being forced to keep them, find that the extra financial burden laid upon them cannot be met from the resources of the family.
The provision where the income of other members of the family would be taken into account in assessing board and lodgings is, in my opinion, totally irrelevant. In many cases the family budget is already overstretched due to the fact that they may have been providing the necessary funds to keep these young people either at school or at university. It is terrible that university grants are also being assessed against them when it comes to having their means assessed for these purposes. The fact that some of those students are receiving amounts as low as £2 per week, even though they are genuinely unemployed, in my opinion cannot be tolerated. There is no way that a family on an ordinary family income, can afford to subsidise an 18-year old whose commitments, socially and otherwise, are much greater than those of a person of 12 or 14 years of age.
The Department issue nice coloured leaflets. One of them states that if a person is 18 years or over and wants unemployment assistance, he should apply at his nearest employment exchange or office on the first day of unemployment, otherwise he may lose payment. That is grand, but as far as those school leavers are concerned, they take it from that that once they apply their applications will be processed reasonably quickly. Yet, they find it takes anything up to ten weeks to have their applications processed, and sometimes, even after ten weeks, their allowances are as low as £2 to £5. The assessment taken against them with regard to living at home is wrong because they automatically become a burden on the family who have to provide food, clothing and so on, for them. Yet, if they were to move out of their own home and into a caravan next door they would not have board or lodging assessed against them.
The Minister will realise, from his constituency work, the number of young people who are seeking this type of assistance to try to maintain themselves rather than becoming a burden on their families. It is imperative that we provide the necessary staff, if it is a staff problem. I am told it is mainly a staff problem because the social welfare officers available to do this type of work are already overburdened with the regular work even before the applications of these school-leavers come on their desks. I am aware of a case in my own constituency where an applicant's file was sent to the social welfare officer on 23 May and as yet the local office has not received a reply. This is something that cannot be tolerated. I do not blame the social welfare officer because he has more work to do in a week than is possible. At present he is doing what was originally the work of two social welfare officers.
I ask the Minister of State to see what can be done to have claims processed within a reasonable time rather than allowing them to drag on and on with the result that many students borrow from other members of their family on the strength of the payments they hope to receive and then they find they do not receive any payment. This can lead to strained family relations because they are unable to repay the money borrowed. The Minister should be in a position to ask that the files of first time social welfare applicants for unemployment assistance receive priority treatment. If an investigation to see if an old aged pensioner had increased his capital since he was previously assessed was involved it would be done very quickly, but when young people apply for assistance their applications are delayed. This leads to a lack of confidence in the system. If their claims are unattended for two months, no doubt they will become disgruntled with the system. This can often lead to graver problems and to people becoming involved in crime through a lack of money. If this unemployment assistance was given to them reasonably quickly it could help to prevent them becoming involved in activities which would not be in the best interests of either themselves or the State.
The Minister might also examine the possibility of making an initial payment immediately they apply if he is not in a position to have their applications processed immediately and to make available a sum of £20 per week to each claimant until such time as the applications are processed. The reason I say that is that families can no longer afford to carry this burden of an extra adult in the household as well as providing pocket money. If we are to do anything for these young people and give them some independence in society, it is necessary that this small token sum be paid as quickly as possible.
That is all I want to say. I could go on and on, but no doubt the Minister of State is prepared to examine the position to see what he can have done to have these claims processed more quickly. I hope he will give us a commitment this evening to have them processed within a given length of time.