Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the definition of suitable employment for the purposes of determining if a claimant of jobseeker's allowance has been made an offer of employment that is in fact suitable. [27965/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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In order to qualify for jobseeker's allowance, a person must satisfy certain conditions, including being available for and genuinely seeking work. In determining whether a customer has refused an offer of suitable employment, Deciding Officers of the Department have regard to these availability and genuinely seeking work conditions particularly.

The steps which people are expected to take to seek work will vary from person to person. In determining whether steps taken to seek employment have been reasonable, the Deciding Officer considers all the circumstances of the case including the nature and conditions of the employment sought, the individual circumstances of the customer and the local economic environment.

Particular matters which must be taken into account are the person's skills, qualification and work experience, the period of unemployment, the efforts made in previous weeks to seek employment, the availability and location of job vacancies, and the person's family circumstances.

A customer may be regarded as not being available for work if he or she places unreasonable restrictions on the nature of the employment sought, the hours of work, the rate of pay, the duration of the employment, the location of the employment, or any other unreasonable restrictions on the conditions of employment which he or she is prepared to accept.

In cases where a Deciding Officer is of the opinion that the person has placed unreasonable restrictions on the nature of employment sought, the person may be interviewed to clarify the position. The customer may demonstrate that the restrictions are not unreasonable and that he or she has a reasonable prospect of getting full-time work despite such restrictions.

These same conditions are also applied in determining whether a person has been made an offer of suitable employment.