asked the Minister for Social Welfare the action which has been taken by his Department in respect of an application for unemployment benefit (details supplied) about which I wrote to him on the 2 March 1978 and received an acknowledgment on 7 March 1978, and about which nothing further has been heard; if he will state, in relation to this delay, (1) the causes (2) if this sort of delay is normal; and, if so, the action he proposes to take to improve the situation.
Written Answers . - Unemployment Benefit Application .
139.
: The person concerned failed to qualify for unemployment benefit because he did not have the statutory 26 contributions paid or credited in the 1976 contribution year. A claim for unemployment assistance was, therefore, accepted from him which entailed an examination of his means by a social welfare officer. However, as he failed to disclose the necessary information on which his weekly means might be assessed, this application cannot be proceeded with.
The failure to reply to the Deputy's representations in this case, which I regret, was inadvertent and arose from confusion in regard to the reference number of the papers applicable to the person concerned.