Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 42: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, with regard to the qualifying criteria for unemployment benefit or assistance, deciding officers can rule negatively in cases where fire service personnel state that they must seek employment within the geographical area of their retainer contract with the local authority; if there are circumstances in which fire service retainer contracts can be used to determine that an applicant is not genuinely seeking employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17526/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Social Welfare legislation provides that a person must satisfy the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work in order to be entitled to unemployment benefit or assistance. In order to satisfy these conditions, a person must demonstrate that he or she is making reasonable efforts to secure full-time employment or self- employment.

In applying the legislation Deciding Officers do not treat part-time firefighters differently to any other unemployment benefit or assistance claimant. However, days on which part-time firefighters are involved in training or firefighting are disregarded when determining their entitlement to an unemployment payment. A Deciding Officer may impose a disallowance in a case where a person refuses an offer of suitable employment or where he or she imposes unreasonable restrictions on the location of the employment he or she is prepared to accept.