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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 24 Apr 1969

Vol. 239 No. 14

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

18.

asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will now consider abolishing the three day waiting period for applicants for unemployment benefit in view of the hardship and inconvenience it causes.

The abolition of the three-day waiting period for unemployment benefit is not contemplated. In practice this waiting period for unemployment benefit is not of frequent occurrence. It applies only where a period of more than 13 weeks has elapsed since unemployment or disability benefit was last obtained. Moreover, one effect of the doubling last year of the duration of unemployment benefit to 312 days is to reduce further the incidence of waiting days for unemployment benefit.

Of course it only penalises the person who is unemployed occasionally. The person who is unemployed very often is not affected by this at all, nor the person who is unemployed all his life.

Those are the people about whom we should be most concerned.

We should be concerned about those who are unemployed occasionally also.

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