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

To answer Deputy O'Dea's question specifically, obviously it involves the guiding rules. We are changing the principle conditionality of the schemes of working age, whereby there is a specific set of conditions today - a new condition - notwithstanding that with respect to the scheme for which one would be applying, one would be otherwise available for work. The core principle of working age payments, which is clearly set out in the conditionality requirement, is now attaching the relevant condition to the working age payments. Therefore, working age payments, for example, will not be subject to a disqualification in respect of a legal detention but rather the person in legal detention will not be able to satisfy the conditions of the new scheme. If the Deputy is asking me if a person's payment will be taken from them if they are no longer available for work and should that conditionality be attached to it, the answer to that question is "yes", that is the purpose of it. Currently, somebody potentially could be in receipt of any working age payment, become incarcerated and continue to maintain that payment.

A new condition of the payment is that, notwithstanding the working age payment in question, including illness, disability or invalidity payments, if one did not have that condition, one would be available for work. If people are incarcerated, they are not available for work. That is the condition we are adding.

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