asked the Minister for Finance whether he will state (a) if it has been decided to publish the report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Public Works; (b) if he will state in respect of the first week in each month from January, 1937, to date, the number of men employed for (1) three days per week or less; (2) four days or more per week, in connection with schemes recommended by the Inter-Departmental Committee on Public Works; (c) the average daily rate of pay of the men employed on these schemes; and (d) whether national health insurance and unemployment insurance cards are stamped for the men so employed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Report on Public Works.
As the reply is somewhat lengthy and contains a tabular statement, I propose to circulate it with the Official Report.
Following is the reply:
No decision has yet been taken in regard to publication of the report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Public Works.
With regard to (b) and (c) in the Deputy's question it is necessary to state that the individual employment schemes carried out were not schemes specifically recommended by the Inter-Departmental Committee, which was concerned rather with types and categories of schemes suitable for the relief of unemployment. Statistics are not available with regard to the number of men who have been employed respectively on three days and four days per week on rotational schemes in operation since the 1st January, 1937, nor of the average daily rate of pay of men employed on these schemes. To obtain these particulars would entail the examination of all the wage sheets in connection with some 3,000 separate works, and the public value of the information would not, in my view, be commensurate with the time and expense involved in the investigation. I append, however, a statement showing the total number of men employed each week since the 1st January, 1937. It may be taken that approximately 75 per cent. of the workmen employed on a rotational basis have received three days' work a week, 5 per cent. less than three days' work and 20 per cent. four days or more.
The rate of wages paid to workmen engaged on minor employment schemes, which in point of cost represented about one-seventh of the moneys provided for employment schemes in 1936-37, is 4/- per day and is related to the wages paid to agricultural labourers, for the reasons that the workmen are in the great majority of cases recruited from agricultural labourers and farmers of uneconomic holdings and that the works carried out are for the benefit of agricultural lands. In every other case the rate of wages is the recognised rate for analogous work in the same locality.
As regards (d) in the question, National Health Insurance cards are stamped for all workmen engaged on employment schemes, and unemployment insurance cards in the case of all classes of work except minor employment schemes which are exempted on the ground that the work is for the benefit of agricultural land.
EMPLOYMENT SCHEMES.
Total Number of Workmen employed each week since 1st January, 1937:—
|
Week Ended |
Total Number of Men Engaged (including Land Reclamation Schemes) |
Week Ended |
Total Number of Men Engaged (including Land Reclamation Schemes) |
|
Jan. 2nd |
42,492 |
May 22nd |
14,578 |
|
,, 9th |
45,172 |
,, 29th |
13,553 |
|
,, 16th |
45,164 |
June 5th |
14,986 |
|
,, 23rd |
44,864 |
,, 12th |
15,458 |
|
,, 30th |
50,189 |
,, 19th |
15,012 |
|
Feb. 6th |
50,236 |
,, 26th |
15,071 |
|
,, 13th |
51,775 |
July 3rd |
13,128 |
|
,, 20th |
49,411 |
,, 10th |
12,276 |
|
,, 27th |
49,403 |
,, 17th |
11,273 |
|
Mar. 6th |
49,794 |
,, 24th |
10,161 |
|
,, 13th |
45,227 |
,, 31st |
8,215 |
|
,, 20th |
43,459 |
Aug. 7th |
8,447 |
|
,, 27th |
39,504 |
,, 14th |
7,723 |
|
April 3rd |
30,713 |
,, 21st |
7,223 |
|
,, 10th |
27,495 |
,, 28th |
6,774 |
|
,, 17th |
25,848 |
Sept. 4th |
6,892* |
|
,, 24th |
22,423 |
,, 11th |
6,572* |
|
May 1st |
18,893 |
,, 18th |
5,956* |
|
,, 8th |
17,359 |
,, 25th |
5,560* |
|
,, 15th |
15,951 |
Oct. 2nd |
5,186* |
|
,, 9th |
4,921* |
* Provisional figures.