Dáil Éireann - Volume 363 - 22 January, 1986

Written Answers. - County Roscommon Social Welfare Assessors.

Mr. Doherty Mr. Doherty

182

[182] 286. Mr. Doherty asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will give details of the panels of assessors appointed by him to assist at oral hearings of appeals in relation to entitlement to unemployment benefit and to unemployment assistance for the Roscommon area; the organisations that the individuals represent; the terms and durations of their appointments; and the yearly cost attached to each appointment.

Minister for Social Welfare (Mr. B. Desmond) Barry Desmond

Minister for Social Welfare (Mr. B. Desmond): Panels of assessors are appointed under the Social Welfare Acts to assist appeals officers at oral hearings about entitlement to unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance. The panels are composed of persons nominated by local employer and trade union bodies and are constituted at intervals of five years. The Roscommon area is at present served by the Longford, Sligo and Ballina panels. The Longford panel was set up on 17 April 1983 and is due to expire on 16 April 1988. The Sligo panel was set up on 24 June 1985 and is due to expire on 23 June 1990. The Ballina panel was set up on 13 June 1983 and is due to expire on 12 June 1988. The employer and worker bodies represented on the panels are as follows:

Longford Chamber of Commerce

Sligo Chamber of Commerce

Ballina Chamber of Commerce

Irish Farmers' Association

Macra na Feirme

Federated Union of Employers

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union

National Association of Transport Employees

National Graphical Association

Transport Salaried Staffs Association

Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians

Irish Union of Distributive Workers and Clerks

Sligo Council of Trade Unions

Trades Council Ballina

Trades Council Castlebar

183

Apart from incidental expenses in respect of subsistence and travelling there is no cost involved in the appointment of assessors. In 1985 the total amount of [183] these expenses for the Longford. Sligo and Ballina panels was £417.56 of which an insignificant amount was in respect of assessors for the Roscommon area.

Dáil Éireann 363 Written Answers. County Roscommon Social Welfare Assessors.

Questions

19860122