Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the extraordinary pressure the system is under due to the doubling of the number of unemployed. I want to focus on the issue of jobseekers, particularly those who were previously self-employed. There is a major problem in their regard. There seems to be a degree of enthusiasm among the inspectorate to insist on all sorts of documentation of back income etc. I understood from a meeting on 13 May that this was being reconsidered and that the current income situation of these people would be the issue. However, I have not found that happening in the system. I urge the Minister to take another look at the situation. Perhaps that would help speed up payments.

I mentioned a particular case previously and without going into too much detail I will repeat it. It concerns a person's half-built house being taken into account. It was valued at €400,000 and this sum was taken into account and used as a basis to refuse a jobseeker's payment. This is not on and I urge the Minister to reconsider this type of appraisal. Perhaps that would then speed up a resolution of the situation.

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