Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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We are all aware that a person in receipt of unemployment assistance or unemployment benefit must at all times be available for work. The issue is this debate is in regard to athletes who are in receipt of sports grants. As such some may be in full-time employment and may be allowed time off by their employers for training camps or for international appearances. Unfortunately, others are not in employment. In those instances the athletes sign for unemployment assistance or unemployment benefit. Given that they are in receipt of a sport grant of approximately €11,000 they are not eligible to apply for unemployment assistance. In many cases they depend on the sports grant to survive. Many of those young athletes are wonderful ambassadors for the country. They appear on the county, national, provincial, and international stages proudly representing their sport. Because of the rules that pertain in regard to unemployment assistance they are solely dependent on the sports grant. If one subtracts the unemployment assistance of €7,436 from the sports grant of €11,000, it shows the sports grant has a value of approximately €4,000 to these athletes. They are required to give consideration to their diet and acquire equipment. It is only the joy of performing and doing well in their sport that keeps them going. A great fuss is made of the sports grant but unemployment assistance is being taken back from those who, unfortunately, need it.

The Department should recognise the sports grant is specifically attached to an athlete's performance in the international, national or county arena. They need that grant to prepare themselves for participation in their sport. It is not a grant designed to cover the daily needs of food and drink but rather to allow them perform better through the equipment, training and back-up services required. Many of the national sporting associations do not have the financial resources to provide for the athletes in training camps or at international competition. The application for unemployment assistance only arises when they are at home and not competing in international competitions but they are not paid for that period of time. We expect these athletes to give the example to young people who are the men and women of tomorrow and to help avoid the development of social disorder. Young people follow their idols in a given sport.

There are not many cases where an athlete needs to apply for unemployment assistance. I ask the Department to reconsider the situation and allow those people to be granted unemployment assistance during that period.

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I thank Deputy Wall for raising this matter on the adjournment of the House.

In assessing a person's means for unemployment assistance purposes, account is taken of all income that a person or his or her spouse receives. Income from all sources, unless specifically excluded by legislation, is taken into account in carrying out the means assessment. Money received by way of a sports grant towards a particular sport is normally assessable on a euro for euro basis. There is no provision in legislation to disregard such income.

A self-employed person may qualify for a reduced rate of unemployment assistance if his or her net income is below the relevant threshold. Where income from self-employment is assessed as means for unemployment assistance, the weekly payment is reduced on a euro for euro basis by the weekly means assessed. The weekly amount assessable is based on the person's net income in the previous 12 months.

Where the person is self-employed the method of assessment allows for an investigating officer to estimate the person's income in the coming year. In the absence of information on this, the previous year's income is taken as a guide. If the investigating officer has good reason to believe that the prospects for self-employment will increase or decrease in the coming year, the estimate of the person's means will accordingly be adjusted. All reasonable work-related expenses and outgoings are then deducted from the gross income from self-employment. The remaining amount is then divided by 52 to give a weekly means assessment. It is considered that this method of assessment is fair and equitable.

Qualification for the grants scheme operated by the Irish Sports Council is made available to athletes on a case-by-case basis based on sport-specific criteria. Direct financial support is made available under the scheme for two purposes. These are out of pocket expenses and general living expenses. In the case of out of pocket expenses, a player-athlete must account for all items of such expenditure before the year end by completing an official expenditure report accompanied by receipts, invoices and supporting documentation. Such expenses incurred would not be assessed as means for the purposes of unemployment assistance, subject to the appropriate documentation being made available to the Department. In the case of world class and international class categories only, players and athletes may opt to have up to 50% of the grant available under the grants scheme applied to general living expenses. This portion of the grant is assessable in full for unemployment assistance purposes.

A self-employed person who has his or her means assessed is free to request a reassessment of means if dissatisfied that these means do not correctly reflect his or her situation. He or she is free to outline any considerations which might have an effect on the means assessed. If the applicant is still unhappy after the review, he or she may appeal to the social welfare appeals office for an independent review of his or her means.

The conditions for receipt of unemployment assistance also require that a person must be unemployed, available for full-time employment, genuinely seeking work and satisfy the condition as regards means. Each case is treated on an individual basis.

The introduction of special arrangements exempting athletes from the requirements to fulfil any of the statutory conditions for entitlement to unemployment benefit or assistance would raise equity issues vis-À-vis other claimants to unemployment payments.