asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether he is aware that when a person in Dublin entitled to unemployment insurance payments becomes disemployed it takes 12 days before any payment of unemployment insurance can be made, and that many such persons are in the meantime driven to apply to the board of public assistance for assistance under the Poor Relief Acts; and if he will state what is the cause for the delay in making the first payments under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, and whether he will take steps to see that these payments are made in such a way that claimants will not be driven to apply for home assistance.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Unemployment Insurance Payments.
Unemployment benefit which can be paid only in respect of days that have expired, is normally paid at weekly intervals on Friday in respect of the week ended on the previous Wednesday. Persons who claim for the first time or following an interval exceeding six weeks since their previous period of continuous unemployment are not entitled to receive any unemployment benefit for the first six days of continuous unemployment. The first day in respect of which unemployment benefit is payable in such cases is the seventh day of continuous unemployment, and payment is made on the first pay day following the week ended Wednesday in which the first day for which they are entitled to benefit occurred. Persons who claim following an interval of six weeks or less since their previous period of continuous unemployment may become entitled to unemployment benefit from the date of claim, but only when they have completed a period of six days' continuous unemployment, and special arrangements operate in Dublin to have payment made for these days on the first following Monday, Thursday or Friday.
In any exceptional case in which benefit cannot, for any reason, be paid on the first pay day on which it is due, the public assistance authority is able to obtain a refund of any assistance they have given in excess of what they would have given if the claimant had been in receipt of benefit.
Apart from the normal disemployment of persons week after week, there are occasional slumps in employment and 200 or 300 cases may arise in a particular week. Under the conditions operating at the labour exchange, these cases are put on to the rates. This week there have been about 500 cases and, surely, there should be some machinery by which this burden would be placed on some other shoulders than those of the ratepayers. The Minister referred to the giving of relief by way of loan. That only arises in a few cases.
I explained to the Deputy that where, by reason of particular circumstances, the public assistance authority has to grant home assistance, that authority can claim a refund of any amount paid in excess of that to which the person would ordinarily be entitled.
Mr. Byrne
From whom can the home assistance authority get the refund? Will the Minister consider abolishing this "waiting-time" completely? It has been a terrible trial to the unemployed.
I have already informed the House that a refund can be secured from the Department of Industry and Commerce in the ordinary way.