Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

FIS is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings who have children. FIS is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low-paid workers with child dependants and to offer a financial incentive to take up employment. In excess of 57,000 families with more than 127,000 children are in receipt of FIS. The estimated spend on FIS this year is approximately €422 million. To qualify for FIS, a person must be engaged in insurable employment which is expected to last for at least three months and be working for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight or 19 hours per week. Any combination that reaches 38 hours over a fortnight is acceptable. A couple may combine their hours of employment to meet the qualification criteria. The applicant must also have at least one qualified child who normally resides with or is supported by him or her. The average family income must be below a specified amount, which varies according to the number of qualified children in the family.

For low income workers with less than the minimum hours of employment for FIS and working on a casual basis up to and including three days per week, the jobseeker’s allowance scheme provides in-work income support through daily disregards and tapered withdrawal of payments. Individuals on jobseeker’s benefit can also work up to three days per week. For each day they work, there is a proportionate reduction in their jobseeker’s benefit payment.

If a person cannot meet the 19 hours FIS threshold or if his or her hours vary significantly from week to week, the Department offers a number of other schemes that can provide income support that can be combined with earnings from employment, subject to each individual’s circumstances. These can include disability allowance, carer’s allowance, the one-parent family payment, jobseeker’s transitional payment and the part-time job incentive scheme. Combined, the Department provides an extensive system of social welfare support which facilitate recipients taking up some employment while maintaining their social welfare payments.

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