Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Prescribed courses can vary. They can entail community employment and training through SOLAS. We are missing the point here. The point is that Intreo offices provide information on employment opportunities. It is when the long-term unemployed do not engage with or ignore the services of the Intreo offices – “engage” is the most important word here – that they get their payments reduced. Once there is engagement, a discussion and an individual personal progression plan, and once an effort is made to get back to work, the payment is not cut. That is the way it works in reality.