Written answers

Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Social Insurance

9:00 pm

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 779: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the inflexibility of current social security arrangements whereby a person who has employment for three hours five days a week, earning less than €150 per week, cannot qualify for jobseeker's benefit for the hours they are available for work or for family income supplement if he or she has children and the steps she intends to take to address this problem. [1861/10]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative employment. It is a fundamental qualifying condition for these benefits that a person must be available for full-time work.

Under the current Jobseeker's Benefit/Allowance system, a working week is considered to be six days. Sunday is not considered to form part of the working week and any work done on a Sunday is not reckoned when entitlement to benefit is being determined.

The benefit is only payable in respect of days of unemployment and it is not, therefore, payable in respect of any day during which the person is engaged in insurable employment, irrespective of the extent of the employment (number of hours worked) or the remuneration.. Where a person is employed for up to three days in a week, s/he may claim Jobseeker's Benefit/Allowance in respect of the remainder of the week, subject to being available for full-time work.

It is recognised that a changing labour market has resulted in a move away from the more traditional work patterns, with a consequent increase in the number of atypical workers. In response, the Department conducted a 'Review of the Application of the Unemployment Benefit & Assistance Schemes Conditions to workers who are not employed on a full-time basis' which examined the application of the Jobseeker's Benefit/Allowance schemes conditions to workers who are not employed on a full-time basis, i.e. part-time, casual and systematic short-time workers.

The review made a number of recommendations including broadening Jobseeker's Benefit conditions to provide compensation for loss of employment in the case of part-time and other atypical workers. The report is under active consideration within the Department.

The Family Income Supplement (FIS) provides income support for employees with families on low earnings. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might otherwise only be marginally better off than if he or she were in receipt of other social welfare payments.

Qualification for payment under this scheme requires that a person must be engaged in insurable employment for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight. A couple may combine their hours of employment to meet the qualification criteria.

Improvements in recent years to FIS include the change of assessment from a gross income to a net income basis, the increase to €20 per week in the minimum payment and the refocusing of income thresholds to include additional gains for larger families.

The working hours requirement to qualify for FIS i.e. a minimum of 19 hours per week/38 hours per fortnight already assumes a reduction in hours compared to the standard working week. Any further changes to the minimum hours worked for FIS purposes could only be considered in a budgetary context.

In addition, the Part-Time Job Incentive scheme is available to those who were previously on a jobseeker's payment for 15 months or more and are now working under 24 hours per week while seeking full time employment. This payment is not affected by the earnings received from the part-time job.

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