Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 28 September 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection Remit and Legislative Agenda: Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

10:00 am

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy because that is not the will of the Department. The reason it is there is to ensure that we support the people who are receiving a welfare payment while working. The whole ethos of the Department is activation for people who can work part-time or full-time. It is certainly not to see people stuck for a few weeks. That makes no sense. We empower our Intreo offices and the vast proportion of people who are face-to-face in the Department are engaging with people to help them get full-time or part-time work. As such, it would make no sense that we would say that if a person has work, he or she is off the list. We must support people to stay in work because the last thing we need is for someone to have to live on fresh air for a month which prospect would cause him or her not to take a job. If the Deputy has-----

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