Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the fraud rate among jobseekers who are claiming from abroad. [16974/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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There is no provision in Social Welfare legislation for a person who is living abroad to claim a jobseeker's payment in this country. In order to qualify for a jobseeker's payment a person must be: resident in the State, under age 66, capable of work, available for work, and genuinely seeking work.

To qualify for jobseekers benefit a person must also satisfy certain contribution conditions. To qualify for jobseekers allowance a person must satisfy a means test, and the habitual residence condition.

Under EU regulations, a person who has been receiving jobseeker's benefit in Ireland for more than four weeks may transfer their benefit to another EU country for up to three months while looking for work in that country. When a claim is transferred to another EU country, the competent authority in that country takes over responsibility for the payment which is subsequently reimbursed to that country by the Department. While claiming under EU regulations the person becomes subject to the normal controls that pertain in the other EU country. Jobseeker's allowance is not transferable to another EU country.

There are no statistics maintained in the Department of fraud perpetrated in other EU member states by persons who have transferred jobseekers benefit abroad under EU Regulations.