UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT, 1924

AN ACT TO AMEND THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACTS, 1920 TO 1923, AND FOR PURPOSES CONNECTED THEREWITH. [18th July, 1924.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Commencement and termination of Benefit Years.

1.—(1) (a) So much of section 4 of the Act of 1923 as provides that the “Second Benefit Year” established by that section shall terminate on the 15th day of October, 1924, is hereby repealed.

• (b) The said Second Benefit Year shall terminate on the 29th day of June, 1924.

• (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 4 of the Act of 1923—

• (a) a “Third Benefit Year” shall commence on the 30th day of June, 1924, and terminate on the 29th day of October, 1924;

• (b) a “Fourth Benefit Year” shall commence on the 30th day of October, 1924, and terminate on the 25th day of March, 1925;

• (c) a “Fifth Benefit Year” shall commence on the 26th day of March, 1925, and terminate on the Wednesday nearest to the 16th day of October, 1925;

• (d) every subsequent Benefit Year shall be the period beginning on the day next following the day on which the preceding Benefit Year expired and ending on the Wednesday nearest to the 16th day of October in the next following calendar year.

2 Amendment of Schedule to Principal Act.

2.—The expression “Benefit Year” shall be substituted for the expression “Insurance Year” in paragraph 2 of the Second Schedule to the Principal Act.

3 Calculation of amount of Benefit.

3.—For the purpose of determining the amount of benefit to which, having regard to the proportion of benefit to contributions fixed by paragraph 3 of the Second Schedule to the Principal Act, any person is entitled, but for no other purpose, no account shall, after the termination of the Second Benefit Year, be taken of any benefit which may have been received by such person between the date on which the First Benefit Year commenced and the date on which the Second Benefit Year terminated.

4 Contributions in respect of military service.

4.—(1) Section 7 of the Act of 1923 is hereby repealed.

• (2) The Minister for Defence shall out of monies to be provided by the Oireachtas, pay to the Minister for the credit of the Unemployment Fund such contributions for each person to whom this section applies as are necessary to secure that there are not less than twenty-four contributions to the credit of such person in respect of each insurance year during which, or part of which, such person has been a person to whom this section applies.

• (3) This section applies to every person enlisted in the military forces of Saorstát Eireann for a period of service which terminates on or before the 29th day of June, 1924, who in respect of employment before the date of enlistment has had paid for him under the Unemployment Insurance Acts either twenty contributions at any time or ten contributions since the 8th day of November, 1920.

• (4) The sums to be paid in each year by the Minister for Defence to the Minister under this section shall be ascertained and paid at such times and in such manner as may be agreed between the Minister for Defence and the Minister.

5 Periods of Benefit.

5.—Notwithstanding anything in the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 to 1923, or in this Act, no person shall be entitled to receive benefit in the Third Benefit Year established by this Act for periods amounting in the aggregate to more than ten weeks; or in the Fourth Benefit Year established by this Act for periods amounting in the aggregate to more than sixteen weeks; or in the Fifth Benefit Year established by this Act for periods amounting in the aggregate to more than fifteen weeks; or in any subsequent Benefit Year for periods amounting in the aggregate to more than 26 weeks.

6 Certain enactments not to operate during Third and Fourth Benefit Years.

6.—(1) Condition (i) of sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Principal Act shall not operate or have effect during the Third or Fourth Benefit Years.

• (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (4) of section 8 of the Principal Act no person shall during the Third and Fourth Benefit Years be disqualified for receiving Unemployment Benefit by reason only of the fact that no contributions have been paid in respect of him during any Insurance Year.

• (3) Section 35 of the Principal Act (which relates to the purposes for which the Minister may make regulations) shall have effect as if there were added to paragraph (c) of sub-section (1) of that section the following:—

“for requiring, on the consideration and examination of any such claims and questions, the attendance of any person whose presence is necessary or desirable for the purpose of giving evidence concerning such claims and questions, and.”

7 Advances by the Minister for Finance.

7.—(1) The Minister for Finance may out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof, advance any sums required for the purpose of discharging the liabilities of the Unemployment Fund under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 to 1923, as amended by this Act, and for the purpose of providing the sums to be so advanced the Minister for Finance may borrow money in such manner as he may think proper.

• (2) Any sums advanced under the foregoing sub-section, together with interest thereon (if any) at such rate as may be fixed by the Minister for Finance, shall be charged on and be repayable out of the Unemployment Fund.

• (3) The principal and interest of any securities issued by the Minister for Finance for the purpose of borrowing under this section and the expenses incurred in connection with the issue of such securities shall be charged on the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

8 Cessation of powers in respect of special schemes.

8.—(1) The power of the Minister under section eighteen of the Principal Act to make special Orders approving or making special schemes shall cease: Provided that the foregoing provision shall not affect the operation of any special scheme duly approved by the Minister before the commencement of this Act.

• (2) For the purpose of securing in the case of a special scheme that like rates of benefit shall be payable to the persons to whom the scheme applies as are payable under this Act, and that the Benefits under the scheme shall otherwise be not less favourable than those provided by the general provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 to 1924 (but for no other purpose), the Minister may, after consultation with the body charged with the administration of the scheme, notwithstanding anything in the said section eighteen, by order vary or amend the provisions of the scheme, and any such order may provide for consequential amendments as to the rates of contribution and otherwise.

• (3) Sub-section (7) of section eighteen of the Principal Act (which provides for the payment of a certain sum in every year out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to the body charged with the administration of a special scheme) shall cease to have effect.

9 Modification of section 17 of Principal Act.

9.—Notwithstanding anything in any Act, it shall not be necessary for the Minister to require any society or other association to which section seventeen of the Principal Act applies to make, before the end of the Fourth Benefit Year, any greater provision for Unemployment Benefit than such Society or association could have been required to make under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of the said section seventeen as originally enacted.

10 Reciprocal arrangements with other Governments.

10.—The Minister may, subject to the approval of the Minister for Finance, make such reciprocal or other arrangements with the respective Governments of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as may appear to him necessary or proper in consequence of the severance of the system of unemployment insurance in Saorstát Eireann from that in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

11 Definitions.

11.—In this Act—

the expression “Principal Act” means the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920;

the expression “Act of 1923” means the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1923;

the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

12 Short title.

12.—This Act may be cited as the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1924, and shall be construed as one with the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 to 1923, and those Acts and this Act may be cited together as the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 to 1924.