asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will state what constitutes a contract of employment on the basis of which Inspectors of Agents of his Department withhold social welfare benefits from those who would appear to be entitled thereto.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits: Contract of Employment.
15.
Social Welfare benefits are granted or withheld on decisions of Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers who are statutory officers appointed under the provisions of the Social Welfare Act, 1952.
Inspectors of Agents are officers of the Minister who carry out duties assigned to them in connection with the administration of Disability, Marriage, Maternity and Treatment Benefit. In the course of their duties they investigate cases of suspected concurrent working and claiming disability benefit.
It is provided in Article 7 of the Social Welfare (Disability, Unemployment and Marriage Benefit) Regulations, 1953 (S.I. No. 7 of 1953) that for the purposes of disability benefit a day shall not be treated as a day of incapacity for work if an insured person does any work on that day other than work of the nature specified in rule 5 of the Third Schedule to the regulations.
The employments which under that Rule will not disentitle a person to disability benefit are light work for which no remuneration is, or would ordinarily be, payable, or work, the remuneration for which does not exceed thirty shillings a week, where such work is undertaken by an insured person primarily as a definite part of his treatment while he is a patient in or of a hospital, sanatorium or other similar institution.
I am sorry to have to tell the Parliamentary Secretary that I have not had a reply to my question. I asked him what constitutes a contract of employment and I did not hear, in the course of his long reply, anything appertaining to an answer to that question.
In the case of William Doyle, which gave rise to this question, the question of suitability of employment on the 17th June, 1959 did not arise. Doyle, on that day, engaged in work which made him unsuitable for disability benefit.
I have not had an answer to my question as to what constitutes a contract of employment.
In the case which the Deputy has risen——
This is an open question addressed to the Department of Social Welfare which the Parliamentary Secretary purports to represent here today. I think I am entitled to an answer to that question and I would press the Parliamentary Secretary to answer it.
If the Parliamentary Secretary has no reply to the question——
The Parliamentary Secretary has a reply to the question.
In view of the introduction into this discussion of a particular class of work, will the Parliamentary Secretary say that, if a person acts as a personation agent on the day of an election, he is engaged in work which makes him ineligible for employment benefit?
Yes. That is specifically laid down in the regulations.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary quote what is laid down in the regulations?
If the Deputy puts down the question, I shall quote the regulation?
I put down a question as to what constitutes a contract of employment and I have not got an answer.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary say that if a person goes to a candidate in an election and says: "I will go and act for you as a personation agent at such a polling table tomorrow," does that constitute a contract of employment?
If I go up as a candidate and say to a citizen: "Act for me in this booth and I will give you £1 and supply all your meals," that constitutes a contract of service.
If a citizen goes to a candidate and tells him that he will act for him as a personation agent, is that a contract of employment?
The citizen in this particular case did not do that.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary say what evidence he has of that?
His own statement to the investigating officer.
May I ask the Parliamentary Secretary if he would answer the question I addressed to him?
I have answered it and answered it fairly fully.
I consider it a gross insult to any Deputy in Dáil Éireann that he should ask a question and not get an answer to it.