I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
The purpose of this Bill is to consolidate into a single Act all existing enactments governing the social insurance and social assistance schemes administered by the Department of Social Welfare. The Bill embraces the provisions of more than 60 existing Acts most of which contain some provisions which are still valid. It also includes the provisions of subsidiary legislation, such as statutory instruments and statutory rules and orders, where such legislation expressly amends or modifies the statute law.
The Bill does not of course provide for any change in the law as it stands at present and the Attorney General has issued a certificate in accordance with Standing Order No. 107 of this House to the effect that the Bill is purely a consolidating measure and as such does not promote any new law.
A brief explanatory memorandum has been issued with the Bill and, as is required under the terms of Standing Orders, a memorandum prepared by the Attorney General has been prefixed to the Bill which shows the enactments which it is proposed to repeal and the precise provisions of the Bill in which these enactments are reproduced. I trust that these memoranda are of assistance to Deputies in their consideration of the somewhat complex provisions of this exceptionally large piece of legislation.
As Deputies are aware, the process of consolidating legislation involves the grouping together within a single enactment of all those provisions of existing legislation in the area under consideration which remain valid. It also can involve, as in this case, the re-arrangement of these various provisions into a logical and practical sequence suitable to the present needs of those who must implement and interpret the legislation. Consolidation also includes the repeal of such provisions as have, in the course of time, become obsolete and which have no longer any validity.
The Bill contains some 311 sections and runs to more than 200 pages of print. These facts clearly illustrate the scope and the complexity of the social welfare system as it has developed over time. The Bill contains provisions embracing the schemes of social insurance, as provided for by the Social Welfare Act, 1952 and by the many subsequent amending Acts, including the Social Welfare (Pay-Related Benefit) Act, 1973. It includes also provisions covering the schemes of social assistance as provided for by the Old Age Pensions Acts, the Unemployment Assistance Acts, the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts and the Social Welfare (Supplementary Welfare Allowances) Act. The Bill also embraces the legislative provisions of the children's allowances scheme, the intermittent unemployment insurance ("wet-time") and the school meals and fuel schemes. And, of course, it includes the various ancillary provisions which relate to the administration of the various insurance and assistance schemes including the decision and appeals machinery, the various methods of financing and the arrangements for legal proceedings and so on.
Thus, with the passage of this Bill, there will be for the first time a single Act of the Oireachtas making legislative provision for all aspects of the social welfare system. It is my intention that the new Bill should be made available, after its enactment, in a form comparable to that of the Income Tax Act, that is in a loose leaf form capable of being up-dated after the passage of any and all subsequent legislation. In this way the highly complex social welfare legislation will from now on be available in a more usable and readable form to those who have occasion to use it.
This Bill has been prepared because of the legislative results of the expansion of the social welfare system over recent years. The growth of the legislation necessary for the administration of the various social welfare schemes has reached the stage where the entire legislative framework has become so extensive and complex as to be extremely difficult and time-consuming to interpret. When I announced in this House that work had started on the consolidation of social welfare legislation—in my Second Reading speech on the Social Welfare Bill of 1975— I pointed out that the long title of that enactment itself indicated the range of legislation governing this area, making, as it did, reference to Acts including the Old Age Pensions Acts and the Education (Provision of Meals) Acts covering the period from 1908 to 1974. I also pointed out that there were approximately 60 basic Acts and at least 350 regulations governing the schemes operated by my Department, not to mention innumerable examples of case or precedent law arising from the application of those Acts and regulations. I considered it appropriate to streamline all of this law so as to meet with the requirements of ease of access and greater clarity and so make for the more efficient administration of the whole system.
In recent years there have been repeated requests from interested social services bodies in the public and private sectors for consolidation of social welfare legislation so as to provide them with a more easily understandable and more manageable body of legislation with which to work. Similar requests have been made by Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas and from all sides of those Houses for the consolidation of this very complicated and yet very widely referred to body of legislation. I hope that the Bill now before the House will serve to meet these very legitimate requests and to provide all these interested individuals and bodies with a meaningful and workable legislative framework.
The main beneficiaries, to a great extent, of this change will of course be the officials of the Department of Social Welfare. In their day to day work they must deal continuously with the interpretation and implementation of this wide range of Acts and subsidiary legislation. I want at this stage to pay tribute to the officials of the Department who have carried out this task of consolidation. It has been an arduous and demanding task calling for great attention and meticulous care and it has been accomplished with the skill which I have come to expect from the officials of my Department. I must also pay equally well deserved tribute to the officials of the Attorney General's office who have played a significant part in carrying out this work very speedily indeed. They have all recognised the need for this development and have made a full contribution to its achievement.
This Bill is among the largest to be presented to this House. It will, following its Second Reading here, be referred to the Standing Committee on Consolidation Bills of the two Houses. I trust that it will be possible for the Committee to deal quite speedily with the Bill in order that it may be enacted and made available for use at the earliest possible moment. I do, of course, recognise that the examination of such a complex piece of legislation is an enormous task and I can assure all those who will be involved in its scrutiny of the fullest co-operation of myself and of my Department in that work.
In conclusion, may I say that I regard this consolidation as a most important piece of work in so far as it brings together, clarifies, and makes more manageable a body of legislation which is of profound importance to so many of our fellow citizens. I intend that as soon as this legislation has been completed a consolidated set of social welfare regulations, updating into a small and practical set of new regulations the vast range of existing statutory instruments, will be issued. When that is done I believe that a considerable step forward towards a more understandable social welfare code will have been taken.
I do not, however, underestimate the extent of the continuing task of ensuring that everyone who has need to know about the social welfare code and its implications for them, either as recipients or as workers in the social services area, will be provided with all the information and assistance which they require. That is a task which must be carried on with increased commitment and determination. I have pleasure in recommending this Bill to the House.