I move amendment No. 318 :—
Before Section 306 to insert a new section as follows :—
(1) In this section, the expressions " the existing permanent force ", " the existing Reserve force " and " existing Reserve officer " have the meanings respectively assigned to them by sub-section (1) of section 291.
(2) The following expressions, where they occur in sub-section (2) of Section 1 or in Section 2 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1945 (No. 23 of 1945), shall, in lieu of having the meanings respectively assigned to them by sub-section (1) of the said Section 1, be construed in accordance with the following provisions :—
(a) the word " discharge " shall mean discharge, transfer or retransfer to the Reserve Defence Force, release from permanent service, dismissal, relinquishment of commission, retirement and resignation, but shall not include—
(i) the resignation of a commission for the purpose of appointment as a cadet or officer of the permanent Defence Force, or
(ii) discharge for the purpose of appointment to commissioned rank, or
(iii) termination of service by death, or
(iv) transfer or retransfer to the Reserve Defence Force not involving interruption of service,
and the word " discharged " shall be construed accordingly ;
(b) the expression " member of the Defence Forces " shall mean any officer or man of the Defence Forces, other than—
(i) an officer holding in the permanent Defence Force a commission which is without limitation as to time, or
(ii) an officer or man who is discharged before he has completed three months' service ;
(c) the word " service " shall, in relation to a member of the Defence Forces, mean full-time service in the Defence Forces and in the existing permanent force and the existing Reserve force in respect of which pay was issuable, but shall not include—
(i) in case he is an officer of the Reserve Defence Force (whether an existing Reserve officer or not), service in the Reserve Defence Force, or
(ii) in case he is an existing Reserve officer, service in the existing Reserve force after the 1st day of September, 1946, or
(iii) any period of annual training, or
(iv) any service rendered by him before he attained the age of 16 years, or
(v) service in the existing permanent force or the existing Reserve force previously taken into account for the purposes of sub-section (1) of Section 2 or sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1945, as enacted.
(3) The references in Section 15 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1946 (No. 37 of 1946), to the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1945, shall be construed as including references to the last-mentioned Act as amended by sub-section (2) of this section.
This amendment also relates to the Unemployment Insurance Acts. It adapts certain provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1945 and 1946. For the information of the Committee, I may say that, prior to the 1945 Act, contributions were not payable in respect of service of the Defence Forces, and in consequence, members of the Defence Forces on the termination of their services had not available in respect of such service contributions in respect of which they could, if unemployed and otherwise qualified, obtain unemployment benefit. The Act of 1945 provided for crediting in the Unemployment Fund, for benefit purposes, of contributions in respect of full-time service subsequent to the 2nd September, 1939. The Act did not apply to officers holding permanent commissions or to periods of service of less than three months.
The provisions of the present amendment merely retain the provisions I have mentioned, adapted to bring them into line with the terminology of the present Bill. As I said in connection with a previous amendment, they are necessary merely in case this Bill comes into operation before the Social Welfare (Insurance) Bill.