asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he will state the number of sittings held by the Appeals Committee appointed under the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933, for the purpose of determining appeals submitted to them under the Act and the average number of hours in each week occupied by such sittings.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Working of Unemployment Assistance Act.
The Unemployment Appeals Committee constituted under the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933, has held 119 meetings. No record of the duration of meetings of the Unemployment Appeals Committee is kept.
Mr. Murphy
Can the Minister say if the Committee meets once a week or twice a week?
It meets two or three times a week.
Can the Minister say if many of the appeals have been dealt with?
A very substantial number has been dealt with but a very substantial number still remains to be dealt with.
Is it not possible for the Minister to consider the question of employing persons wholetime in the consideration of those appeals, especially in view of the fact that he intimated to the House quite recently that it would take nearly two years before the 22,000 appeals under consideration were dealt with?
The whole question is being considered.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether it is the practice of his Department where representations are made to him against the payment of unemployment assistance to individual claimants to suspend such payments until the investigation of such representations is concluded; whether he realises the hardship inflicted on persons whose payments are suspended for considerable periods in consequence of baseless representations being made concerning them, and whether he is in a position to indicate that in future the payment of unemployment assistance will be continued during the investigation of such representations.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 20 (1) of the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933, every application for unemployment assistance is required to be received and considered by an unemployment assistance officer who is required to determine every question relating thereto including in particular the question whether the statutory conditions have been or continue to be complied with. An unemployment assistance officer is, therefore, bound to investigate any information coming to his notice which affects or which may affect the question of the fulfilment of the statutory conditions for the receipt of unemployment assistance in any case. In any such case payment of unemployment assistance cannot be made pending the result of such investigation as may be necessary to enable the unemployment assistance officer to determine whether the applicant continues to fulfil the statutory conditions for the receipt of unemployment assistance. Investigation in every such case is carried out as expeditiously as possible. It is only after full inquiry that it can be said whether representations concerning a claimant are baseless or well founded. When it is found that the statutory conditions are being fulfilled, payment is resumed immediately and accrued arrears are paid in full.
Mr. Murphy
Can the Minister say if it is the practice to act on anonymous complaints received?
Anonymous complaints are not ignored, but I would not say it is always the practice to act on them.
Mr. Murphy
Would the Minister be prepared to admit that all anonymous letters are acted on immediately, and that sometimes they have the result— although they are often proved to be malicious—of holding up benefit for three or four months?
If, on investigation, the unemployment assistance officer finds that the applicant is entitled to receive and has been entitled to receive the assistance, then due arrears are paid. Generally speaking, I think it is more desirable that that system should operate rather than that persons should get benefit to which they are not entitled, and which would have to be recovered from them by way of civil action or deductions from future payments, having regard to all the circumstances of the cases which are likely to arise.
Mr. Murphy
Surely the Minister realises that it inflicts great hardship on a number of people to have anonymous communications made regarding their applications taken into account? The Minister will realise that there are many people in the country who specialise in the writing of anonymous letters about various things, and that the Unemployment Assistance Act is to them a very fruitful source of activity?
I should not like to give the impression that all anonymous communications are acted upon, but usually when the information conveyed in that way seems to correspond with information already available to the officers administering the Act, then investigations are carried out. It does not always follow either that payment is stopped until the investigations are completed. Only where there seems to be evidence which tends to show that payment is not being properly received is there a cessation of payment until investigations are completed.
Mr. Murphy
Would the Minister be able to give me any information on this point? Supposing a letter is received in the Department, mentioning the name of a certain person, and merely stating that he does not deserve unemployment assistance, is it the practice to take notice of that?
No.
Mr. Murphy
I am afraid the Minister is misinformed on that point. Might I trouble the Minister just a little further to ask him to especially look into the delay which takes place as a result of complaints of this kind, because it really does inflict a great hardship in a large number of cases?
I do not know that there have been considerable delays. If there have been they will be less frequent in future, because the staff for that class of work has now been recruited.
Would the Minister not consider it more fair to the applicant, in the event of a communication of that kind, to pay the benefit, and if the information is found to be correct to take proceedings against the person for drawing money under false pretences?
99.9 per cent. of the information received is to the effect that the person receiving the assistance is, in fact, working for somebody else at the time. That information can be very easily checked up, and I do not know that we could do otherwise than act as we have been doing upon receipt of information of that kind.
I have a case in mind of a man who has been waiting for over seven months for an investigation regarding payments.
I will not accept that. I think the Deputy must be referring to an appeal against the refusal of a certificate or an assessment of means.
No. This is a case of an anonymous communication. I will show the case to the Minister.
I will be glad to get the information.