Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not know if it has escaped Senator Cullinane's attention but people at work pay tax and PRSI so that we can have a remarkably decent social welfare service in this country, notwithstanding the knocks and the shocks the economy has suffered through the actions of the banks and the collapse of the construction industry. It is important, as Minister for Social Protection, that I balance my responsibility to people who have, unfortunately, lost their jobs, and we lost 350,000 jobs in the three years after the banks' collapse - we literally fell off a cliff in terms of employment - with my responsibilities to the people paying for the system, that is, the people in work paying their tax and PRSI.

The section states clearly that if someone is made a reasonable offer regarding education, training or getting back to work, they have an obligation in that regard. In effect, they have a contract with their fellow citizens who are funding the system to engage. This is about failure to engage with the social welfare system.