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CHANGES TO THE way certain jobseeker’s benefit is paid – announced as part of the budget yesterday – have led to concerns that the unemployed will have no incentive to take up part-time work.
As part of public expenditure proposals announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin yesterday, jobseeker’s benefit for someone working part of the week will be based on a five-day week instead of a six-day week.
This will mean that from July next year for each day a person is unemployed a fifth of the normal rate of jobseekers’ benefit – currently €188 – will be paid and if a person gets two days of part-time work they will get three-fifths of the benefit that week.
The government has said this will mean a greater incentive for part-time workers on this scheme to return to full time employment. However the Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has confirmed this will mean a cut of 20 per cent for part-time workers receiving these benefits.
Fianna Fáil said this is a cut back in the rate for part time workers and a “direct attack on the welfare rights of part time workers”. Spokesperson on social protection, Barry Cowen said:
“In real terms, before today’s announcement, if someone usually works part time for four days and this is reduced to three days, they would receive the other three days in welfare. Now, under the changed measures they will only get two.”
Meanwhile, the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) said the change will act as a disincentive for many unemployed people.
“This decision will not facilitate unemployed people in moving from welfare to work,” said John Stewart, INOU Co-ordinator.
It is estimated the measure will save just under €6 million for the government.
The government also announced plans for a Labour Market Activation fund of €20 million which will be specifically targetted at getting the long-term unemployed back into work.
But the INOU said it was worried that the government was not going far enough in addressing the issue of unemployment in Ireland: ”The Government have missed an opportunity to invest in unemployed people’s future,” Stewart said.
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Most self employed people who are out of work are not on the welfare because they paid a different prsi stamp .i applied on nov 26th 2008 and it’s still pending .was then told to get a job as I watched polish& all others nationals take money for prams,shoes,taxis services,hospital services,and apts ,cars,and social money to go to the pub,even saw it in finglas in new job that they sent the son to welfare officer to get money and on way home he bought drugs 150 euro worth of hash his unmarried mother congrats him in there new apt .from Dublin city council . I paid me tax for that . Next time I’m back working for myself the taxman can fuck right off
I can understand your frustration !
They can stick my stamps up there &$@$ cos I’m not paying prsi if they refuse me welfare. I feel your pain dude!
Bloody foreigners. Doing all those jobs the Irish won’t do.
“Minister for Social Protection” I must report this under the trade description act. Where are these full time jobs the minister is trying to incentivise us to return to???
So we get a 20% reduction in SW rates for those trying to scrape a living, whilst ex politicians get a 20% reduction in pensions over €100k.
And Mick Noonan hasn’t had his chance to kick us in the teeth yet.
It’s incentivising me to refuse reduced hours if it does come to that, which is looking increasingly likely owing directly to other Government decisions, and to take my redundancy and emigrate.
They say they are all about getting people back to work…..by making people leave work ??? It should be based on a bloody 8 day week if it helps people get back to work.
Get people working for god sake. This will solve all other problems!
Youre spot on.this place is geared against people taking a chance.between the bankruptcy laws and the fact that self employed get no entitlements you’d be insane to come off the dole and work for yourself.how many foreign entrepreneurs got it right first time ? Yet in Ireland you get only one chance. If you don’t succeed first time you are screwed. By the way if you do succeed the taxman takes away most of what you make. Nixers all the way in future. Seems to be the only way to get ahead.
Set a bunch of goals, eg 1gbps broadband to every house in the country, use the unemployed to build it.
Simples
Let’s use our unemployed members overhaul our country.
you make the word unemployed sound like it a disease….
It’s all very well talking about incentivising people to get back to work by measures such as reducing ‘benefits’ but at a time when jobs don’t exist it is cynical.
‘Government’ really no longer exists for the proper representation and interests of its people who blindly and stupidly ‘elect’ it to do do. It is purely the lackey management carrying out the dictates of the masters – big business! I am reminded of ‘capos’ who the Nazis selected to carry out the management of the inmates/victims of the horror camps of WW2.
The simple answer to all this is to exercise your right and don’t vote. That way the ‘government” will never be able to claim they have the mandate to rule from the majority and will always live in fear of having no power. Then a new beginning can be realised whereby real democracy can be created.
there is so much wrong about your post, I just don’t know where to start. Thank jeebis your not leading the country.
I have a part time job, with this change i would make more money if i quit it and went on the dole.It took me 18 months just to get this part time work.
when I saw this yesterday I knew it was a real cut. this is penalising those who can only get 3 days work. the idea being I presume to incentivise people to get full time work. individualisation. for our times!
My dh found part time work as a carer after a long struggle – trouble is its only two hours a day so he’s only bringing in E87 per week. This move will make it not worth his while – surely treating someone who has a full 8 hour day for three days the same as some one who has eight hours over four days isn’t right. His employer stilll needs someone to do these awkward hours – does the government think there are enough kids and mammies who will do these type of jobs just for the pocket money? People who are out working are very angry about what they see as this attack on them when they are out contributing.
Why isn’t it based on amount of hours worked instead of days. You could work five 4hour shifts and claim nothing even though you only earned €180
If they reduced the amount of days required to be present in this country for tax exiles they would raise a lot more revenue than this pettiness
I think its because of the admin – its easier for them to just get a form with the days you week ticked than one with different hours every day – that’s the only explanation I can come up with for this stupid system. Its not a fair assessment of means
sorry meant ‘days you worked’
If one of the days is a Sunday you can go up to four days – for the time being anyway.
I’m a tad confused..
If you work more 3 days a week or more the social won’t give you anything anyway.. At least, this is what it says on their website and the citizens info website.
And I agree.. I’m self employed, I came off disability and became self employed a couple of years ago. My main regular contracts are in nursing homes and their funding has been slashed – they are less reliable than before.
I only work 3 hours per nursing home, I take in between 170-205 per week, out of which I must pay my rent, food, electricity, PLUS My business expenses, eg travel, PRSI, supplies..
For some reason, the social seem to think that my business expenses are optional and I should spend that money on my rent – despite the fact that without those expenditures I cannot work.. Catch 22 anyone?? Talking to them is like banging your head off a brick wall.. I asked what happens when I can’t pay my tax bill at the end of the year, can I tell the revenue commissioners that the social told me to spend it on food? Of course not..
They don’t make it easy.. I would love to know why on earth anyone would choose to be on the dole, but perhaps they know how to play the system better than I.. One thing is for sure, honesty gets you nothing In this world..
Just something I figured out after I was reading the ‘expense budget’.
Ireland is spending €55.7B per anum and has a population of ~ 4.6m
Germany is spending €303.1B per anum and has a population of ~ 81.7m
So the average national expenditure per head of capa per anum for
Ireland is ~ €12.5 while germany is ~€3.7. … … billion that is
….. yes with a b……so in the interest of fairness we need to
contribute (directly and indirectly) that much EACH per year for the
countries to break even………..gulp!…………So, capitalism eh?
Also take into consideration that 40% of the irish expenditure is
social protection that means €5B a year per head of capa is payed out
on welfare which is still ~1.5 times greater than the entire per capa
expenditure of germany………… So are we a welfare state??
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