Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 4 Jul 1990

Vol. 401 No. 1

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Michael Bell

Ceist:

22 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of claimants who were refused unemployment benefit on the grounds of not being available for work or not genuinely seeking work for each of the last five years, in each of the following categories (a) male (b) female (c) mothers and (d) fathers; and if he will give the number who were allowed benefit on appeal.

Minister for Social Welfare (Dr. Woods)

Statistics are not maintained in a manner which provides the information sought by the Deputy.

The Deputy may be interested to know that the total number of appeals against unemployment benefit disallowances heard in the five year period to December 1989 was 12,342. As statistics relating to the reasons for these appeals are not available, it is not possible to say how many of them were appeals against disallowances imposed by deciding officers where persons were found not to be available for or genuinely seeking work.