asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state, in respect of the months (1) January and (2) February, 1937, the number of external firms who indicated to (a) his Department or (b) the employment exchange in Dublin, that they had openings for (1) male and (2) female workers in places outside the Free State, and if he will state in respect of each such notification (1) the class of work indicated, (2) the number of workers required, (3) the place at which the work was said to be available, (4) the terms of employment, including duration; (5) the number of persons registered at the exchange (a) with claims current, (b) without claims current, to whom the information was conveyed; (6) the manner in which the information was conveyed to them; (7) the nature of any facilities provided on official premises for (i) interview and (ii) working demonstration by the firms' representative; (8) the number of persons with claims current (a) who refused to offer themselves for the work, (b) who offered themselves for the work, and (i) were accepted, and (ii) were not accepted; (9) the number of persons without claims current who (a) refused to offer themselves for the work, (b) offered themselves for the work and (i) were accepted, and (ii) were not accepted; and (10) if no official record is kept of (8) and (9), (a) the reason for not keeping such record, and (b) the number of persons (1) with claims current and (2) without claims current, to whom the information was conveyed and whose names disappeared off the employment list (a) within one week, (b) within two weeks, and (c) within three weeks after notification.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment by External Firms.
By "external firms" I assume that the Deputy means firms whose factories or other places of business are situated outside Saorstát Eireann. No "external firm" indicated to my Department in January that they had openings outside the Saorstát for male or female workers. In February one such firm enquired at the Dublin Employment Exchange whether women workers were available for employment in a factory in England. It is a rule of my Department that notification of vacancies outside An Saorstát is not accepted from the employers concerned; the employers' representative was so informed in this case and advised to notify the requirements of her firm to the appropriate local office of the Ministry of Labour in England. Meantime she was permitted to interview such girls at the Dublin Employment Exchange as were considered suitable and might be willing to consider the employment. The further information requested by the Deputy in regard to this inquiry is as follows:—
The work in question was the making and dyeing of felt hoods for hats at a factory in Buckinghamshire.
The number of workers from this country that the firm might be prepared to take was not mentioned, and the employment was stated to be permanent.
The number of workers registered at the Dublin Employment Exchange to whom information as to the possible openings was conveyed cannot be stated as no record was kept. Such a record was unnecessary in this case for the reason that there was no offer of employment involved. The information that employment might be available was conveyed to applicants by counter clerks at the employment exchange by word of mouth. The firm's representative saw applicants who desired to be interviewed in a room in the employment exchange provided for that purpose in accordance with the ordinary practice of the exchange in such circumstances. There were no special facilities afforded. The firm's representative explained to the applicants the nature of the work and produced for inspection two felt hoods for hats. There was no working demonstration.
Attendance at the interview was voluntary. No offer of work was made, consequently no person was accepted or rejected. There was nothing more than a suggestion that work might be available and applicants were given the opportunity to interview the firm's representative before she returned to England.
As there was no offer of work there was nothing to record in regard to refusals of work or the acceptance or rejection of candidates. No record was made of the persons who were informed of the possibility of vacancies occurring. Therefore, it is not possible to say how many of these persons have ceased to register at the employment exchange. No person lost unemployment benefit or assistance or otherwise disappeared from the registers of the employment exchange in consequence of inquiries made at any office of my Department by the representative of this firm, and no question did or could at any time arise in regard to stopping payment of benefit or assistance in any case in which a person was unwilling to accept employment outside An Saorstát.
Are we to understand that, in respect of an offer of employment made either from the officials of the Ministry or through a representative of the firm accommodated in the office, no record was kept by the Department of the number of acceptances of employment that took place?
There was no offer of employment and, consequently, no acceptance of employment.
Was there any representation, direct or indirect, for suitable operatives to take part in the well-known industry of talking through their hats?
That is a monopoly of the Minister's.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state the number of occasions on which, in each of the last six months, requests have been received by him from the Ministry of Labour in Great Britain or Northern Ireland for the submission of applicants for employment in Great Britain or Northern Ireland, and if he will state, in respect of each such request, (1) the class of work indicated; (2) the number of workers required, (a) male, and (b) female; (3) the place at which work was available; (4) the terms of employment, including period of duration; (5) the number of persons registered at the exchange (a) with claims current, (b) without claims current, to whom the information was conveyed; (6) the manner in which the information was conveyed; (7) the number of persons (1) with claims current, (2) without claims current, (a) who offered themselves for work, and (b) who were accepted.
The information which the Deputy desires cannot be supplied without inquiry at every local office in the Saorstát at which such requests may have been received. It has not been found possible to make such inquiries in time to enable the Deputy's question to be answered.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state if any representations were made by him, or on his behalf, to external firms applying to the Dublin Employment Exchange during the months of January or February, 1937, for workers to be employed outside the Free State, as to the possibility and desirability of such work being carried on in the City of Dublin, and if he will state the nature of the work in respect of which such representations were made by his Department, the number of workers who were sought for the work, and the result of any such representations.
The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative and the remaining parts do not, therefore, arise.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state in relation to the application made on the 23rd February, 1937, to the Dublin Employment Exchange for female workers for work outside the Free State the total number of such workers in receipt of benefit on the 18th February to whom this work was offered; the number of such workers who refused to offer themselves for the work; and the number of workers so refusing who did not receive payment of benefit (a) on Thursday, 25th February, and (b) on Thursday, 4th March, the reason for the withholding of such payments on those dates, and the date on which these reasons were intimated to these girls.
Work outside the Saorstát was not offered to any workers by the Dublin Employment Exchange in connection with the inquiry for workers made at that office on the 23rd February by a representative of an English firm. The remaining parts of the question do not, therefore, arise.
In view of the very unsatisfactory nature of the Minister's replies to my questions, I desire to give notice that I shall raise the subject-matter of these questions on the adjournment.
Wearing an appropriate paper hat?