Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 13:

In page 17, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following:

“Jobseeker's benefit -- refusal or failure to engage with activation measures

12. (1) Section 62(5) of the Principal Act is amended in paragraph (a) (amended by section 5 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2009)--(a) in subparagraph (ii) by substituting "available for employment, and" for "available for employment,",

(b) in subparagraph (iii) by substituting “family circumstances,” for “family circumstances, and”, and

(c) by deleting subparagraph (iv).(2) The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following sections for section 62A (inserted by section 7 of the Social Welfare Act 2010):

“Refusal or failure to attend activation meetings relating to jobseeker's benefit

62A. (1) Notice may be given by or on behalf of the Minister to any person receiving jobseeker's benefit requesting the person, at the time specified in the notice, to comply with the requirement specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3).

(2) Where a person refuses or fails, without good cause, to comply with the requirement specified in the notice under subsection (1) at the time specified in that notice, or at any time thereafter as may be determined by or on behalf of the Minister and notified to the person, the weekly rate of jobseeker's benefit payable to that person in respect of any such period of refusal or failure shall, subject to this section, be as set out in section 65(2) or, as the case may be, paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 65A(2).

(3) A notice under this section may require the person to whom it is given to do one of the following, at the time specified in the notice, or at any time thereafter as may be determined by or on behalf of the Minister and notified to the person--(a) attend at a meeting arranged by or on behalf of the Minister for the purpose of providing information to that person which is intended to improve his or her knowledge of the employment, work experience, education, training and development opportunities available to that person, or

(b) attend for or submit to an assessment of that person's education, training or development needs.(4) Where jobseeker's benefit is paid to a person at the weekly rate set out in section 65(2) or, as the case may be, paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 65A(2) on account of a refusal or failure to comply with the requirement specified in the notice under subsection (1) for a period of not less than 21 days, notice may be given by or on behalf of the Minister to that person requesting him or her, at the time specified in the notice, to comply with that requirement.

(5) Where a person refuses or fails, without good cause, to comply with the requirement specified in the notice under subsection (4) at the time specified in that notice, or at any time thereafter as may be determined by or on behalf of the Minister and notified to the person, that person shall be disqualified for receiving jobseeker's benefit for any period of continued refusal or failure commencing on the date specified in the notice under subsection (4), but such period of disqualification shall, subject to subsection (6), not exceed 9 weeks.

(6) Nothing in this section shall prevent the provisions of subsections (1) to (5) being applied to a person where, on or after the expiration of such period of disqualification as is applied in accordance with subsection (5)--(a) notice has been given by or on behalf of the Minister to that person requesting him or her, at the time specified in the notice, to comply with the requirement referred to in subsection (1), and

(b) that person continues, without good cause, to refuse or fail to comply with that requirement.(7) Where, on the commencement of section 12 of the Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013, jobseeker's benefit is being paid to a person at the weekly rate set out in section 65(2) or, as the case may be, paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 65A(2) for a period of not less than 21 days--(a) a notice may be given by or on behalf of the Minister to that person requesting him or her, at the time specified in the notice, to comply with the requirement specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3), and

(b) subsections (4) to (6) shall apply to that person where he or she refuses or fails, without good cause, to comply with that requirement at or after the time specified in the notice under paragraph (a), or at any time thereafter as may be determined by or on behalf of the Minister and notified to the person.Refusal or failure to participate in prescribed schemes, programmes or courses relating to jobseeker's benefit

62B. (1) Where--(a) as a consequence of attendance for or submission to an assessment in accordance with section 62A(3)(b), a request is made by or on behalf of the Minister to that person to participate in, agree to participate in or avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in--

(i) any scheme or programme of employment or work experience,

or

(ii) a course of education, training or development, which is prescribed for the purposes of this section and which is considered appropriate having regard to the education, training and development needs of that person and his or her personal

circumstances, and

(b) that person refuses or fails, without good cause, to participate in, agree to participate in or avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in such a scheme, programme or course, as the case may be, the weekly rate of jobseeker's benefit payable to that person in respect of any such period of refusal or failure shall, subject to this section, be as set out in section 65(2) or, as the case may be, paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 65A(2).(2) Where jobseeker's benefit is paid to a person at the weekly rate set out in section 65(2) or, as the case may be, paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 65A(2) on account of a refusal or failure referred to in subsection (1)--(a) notice may be given by or on behalf of the Minister to that person requesting him or her, at the time specified in the notice, to attend for or submit to an assessment of that person's education, training or development needs, or

(b) a request may be made by or on behalf of the Minister to that person to participate in, agree to participate in or avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in--

(i) any scheme or programme of employment or work experience,

or

(ii) a course of education, training or development, which is prescribed for the purposes of this section and which is considered appropriate having regard to the education, training and development needs of that person and his or her personal

circumstances.

(3) Where a person refuses or fails, without good cause, to--(a) comply with the requirement specified in the notice under subsection (2)(a) at the time specified in that notice, or at any time thereafter as may be determined by or on behalf of the Minister and notified to the person, or

(b) participate in, agree to participate in or avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in any scheme, programme or course referred to in subsection (2)(b), that person shall be disqualified for receiving jobseeker's benefit for any period of such refusal or failure commencing on--

(i) the date specified in the notice under subsection (2)(a), or

(ii) the date of refusal or failure to participate in, to agree to participate in or to avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in any scheme, programme or course referred to in subsection (2)(b), as the case may be, but such period of disqualification shall, subject to subsection (4), not exceed 9 weeks.

(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the provisions of subsections (1) to (3) being applied to a person where, on or after the expiration of such period of disqualification as is applied in accordance with subsection (3)--(a) notice has been given by or on behalf of the Minister to that person requesting him or her, at the time specified in the notice, to comply with the requirement referred to in subsection (2)(a), or

(b) a request has been made by or on behalf of the Minister to that person to participate in, agree to participate in or avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in any scheme, programme or course referred to in subsection (2)(b), as the case may be, and that person continues, without good cause, to refuse or fail to--

(i) comply with the requirement specified in the notice under paragraph (a) at the time specified in that notice, or at any time thereafter as may be determined by or on behalf of the Minister and notified to the person, or

(ii) participate in, agree to participate in or avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in any scheme, programme or course referred to in paragraph (b).

Giving of notice under section 62A or 62B

62C. A notice under section 62A or 62B shall be given in writing and may be given in such other form as may be considered appropriate, including electronic form.”.

(3) Section 65(2) (inserted by section 7 of the Social Welfare Act 2010) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “subsection (2) or (6) of section 62A or subsection (1) or (4) of section 62B” for “section 62A”.

(4) Section 65A(2) (inserted by section 7 of the Social Welfare Act 2010) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “subsection (2) or (6) of section 62A or subsection (1) or (4) of section 62B” for “section 62A”.

(5) Section 68 (amended by section 7 of the Social Welfare Act 2010) of the Principal Act is amended--(a) in subsection (6) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(b) has refused an offer of suitable employment,”,

and

(b) by deleting subsection (6A).”.

My Department has committed under Pathways to Work, the Government policy statement on labour market activation, to engage with and provide supports to unemployed persons. It is in this context that I move these amendments. A key strand in the process is to ensure that all persons in receipt of jobseeker's benefit or allowance fulfil their personal responsibility to engage fully with the employment and training supports provided by the State as a precondition of receipt of welfare payments.

As a means of achieving the engagement of jobseekers who do not comply with activation measures, including the National Employment Action Plan, sanctions were introduced in April 2011 providing for reductions of up to €44 per week in the personal rate of payments. The Department has significantly increased the volume and efficiency of activation work in recent years by bringing groups of customers to information sessions prior to one-to-one engagement. Referrals to group engagement sessions have more than doubled to 38,100 in the first four months of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012. The group engagement process, combined with notifications about the possible sanctions for failure to engage, has resulted in improved levels of customer engagement and increased attendance at one-to-one interviews. The number of interviews achieved through the referral process has increased from 29,000 in the first four months of 2012 to 32,000 in the first four months of this year.

Under the current arrangement, a reduction of up to €44 per week in the personal rate of the jobseeker's payment is applied where a person fails to engage in the employment action plan or refuses to avail of appropriate training. In other words, a person in receipt of a full weekly rate could have his or her payment reduced to €144. The current engagements also preclude the payment of supplementary welfare allowance to compensate for this reduction. Under the revised arrangements, it is proposed that the sanctions which currently apply to refusals to participate in training and education options be extended to prescribed employment programmes and education courses. The revised arrangements also provide for a strengthening of the sanctions in the form of disqualification for up to nine weeks where a customer continues to fail to engage with activation measures after the weekly rate of payment has been reduced for more than three weeks.

The imposition of these sanctions can be appealed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. It is intended that the proposed provisions will also generally prevent the payment of supplementary welfare allowance to compensate for the imposition of the disqualification, but payments of increases for qualified adults or children and supplements such as rent supplements will not be affected by the nine-week disqualification condition. It is applicable, in other words, to the individual's principal personal payment. The imposition of the nine-week disqualification may be lifted at any time if the person demonstrates a genuine re-engagement to the satisfaction of a deciding officer. Transitional arrangements will allow for the new disqualification provisions to be applied to people who have had their weekly payment reduced under the current provisions and who continue to fail to engage with activation measures after the Bill has commenced.

See this speech in context