asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he considers that the regulation relating to an applicant for unemployment benefit who has a land valuation and an income from his holding in excess of £750 per year and less than 78 contributions paid in the prior three years needs to be examined and changed.

To be entitled to unemployment benefit a person must be unemployed and, generally speaking, where any work is done there is no entitlement to benefit. An exception to this is that a person can be engaged in a subsidiary occupation and remain entitled to benefit. A subsidiary occupation is one which can ordinarily be followed in addition to the usual employment and outside the ordinary working hours of that employment. A person engaged in a subsidiary occupation can be entitled to unemployment benefit provided either the remuneration from that occupation does not exceed £2 a day, or he has not less than 78 contributions paid in respect of the previous three years.

The principle of the limit on earnings from a subsidiary occupation is a sound one and the limit now in force is not unreasonable in present circumstances.

9.