asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he will take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that casual labourers who get three days' work in the week will not be effectively deprived of their unemployment assistance for a fortnight.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Casual Labourers and Unemployment Assistance.
Subject to the statutory conditions and statutory disqualifications laid down in Sections 15 and 16 of the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933, as amended by Sections 3 and 9 of the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1935, unemployment assistance is paid without interruption to every person who is continuously unemployed. In the case of most recipients of unemployment assistance, however, their unemployment is punctuated by frequent spells of employment, and the continuity of their unemployment is thus interrupted. Since there is only one pay day each week, it may happen that a person whose unemployment has been discontinuous, in the sense indicated, cannot be paid assistance on the first pay day following the termination of his employment, but in such a case payment is made on the next pay day of any arrears that have accured.
Can the Parliamentary Secretary not devise any scheme which will enable the type of casual labourer referred to in my question to get paid whatever is due to him on the first pay day, instead of having to wait until the second pay day, because it does involve individuals in very acute hardship if they have to wait for the second pay day to come round? The result of that is that certain persons decline casual work rather than suffer the delay of getting back to unemployment assistance when their casual work cases to be available.
It took Deputy Dillon a long time to find that out.
What did the cat bring in?
On a point of order. Is not that a rather disorderly remark to make about a new member coming into the House?
What was the remark?
"What did the cat bring in."
If he behaves like a Deputy he need not fear a bit.
I ask the Ceann Comhairle for a ruling on the matter.
It is not, to say the least, an interruption that commends itself to the Chair.