asked the Minister for Finance if he will state (a) how many persons have received a refund of their subscriptions to the Dáil Loan: (b) how many claims still remain to be dealt with. and what period must elapse before the latter will finally be disposed of.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dáil Loan.
Refunds of subscriptions to the Dáil Eireann (Internal) Loan, 1919/20, have been authorised in favour of 92,605 persons to date. With regard to the second part of the question, there still remain approximately 19,100 claims to be dealt with. Of these, 4,250 are from persons who have failed to comply with requests from my Department for evidence in support of their claims. It is anticipated that a considerable number of these claims will prove to be in respect of sums subscribed to funds other than the Dáil Loan. I am not in a position to state what period must elapse before all the outstanding claims will be disposed of; this must necessarily depend, to a certain extent, on the applicants concerned.
Would the Minister state if the 92,605 persons, whose claims have been accepted, have already been paid?
There is a delay sometimes of a few weeks between the authorisation and the actual payment by the Post Office, but subject to that they have all been paid.
Have all their cheques been sent out?
Yes.
Would the Minister explain what he means by a few weeks?
I do not think that more than three or four weeks, or at the very outside, five or six weeks, would elapse between the sending of the authorisation and the actual payment by the Post Office.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will state (1) what is the full amount paid to date by way of refund of Dáil Eireann Loan; (2) what is the amount of balance unpaid; (3) what amount has been paid during the present financial year to date; (4) what is the number of officers employed full time, and the number of officers of his Department employed part time on this work; and (5) what is the total remuneration paid to the staff engaged, including any allowance for officers, part of whose time is given to this work.
(1) The total amount authorised by way of refund in respect of the Dáil Eireann (Internal) Loan, 1919-20, to date is £409,110 9s. 0d., made up of £292,221 15s. 0d. principal and £116,888 14s. 0d. interest; (2) the balance of the amount received in the Dáil Finance Department in respect of which refund has not yet been authorised is £86,636 5s. 0d.; (3) the amount authorised by way of refund in the current financial year to the 28th ultimo is £46,768 8s. 0d., made up of £33,406 0s. 0d. principal, and £13,362 8s. 0d. interest; (4) the number of officers at present employed full time on the work is 21; (5) the total annual rate of remuneration of the staff is £4,377.
The work is controlled, as part of their ordinary duties, by senior officers of the Department. It would, however, be difficult to apportion the time given by these officers to the work.
I beg to give notice that I will raise this matter on the adjournment.