Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 381: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who were refused jobseeker's allowance in 2011 based on household means which was taken into account at the time (details supplied). [5479/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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While it is possible to identify cases where means are deemed to be in excess of the weekly limit or the means have not been fully disclosed, it is not possible to identify separately those cases where the means are calculated using the parental income in the household. In 2011, 245,855 Jobseeker's Allowance claims were decided which included 20,865 cases where the persons were refused payment. Of these rejections, the number who were refused as a result of having means in excess of the prescribed limit for receipt of payment was 10,660, which included 1,985 persons under 25 years of age. There were an additional 2,349 customers who were refused payment on the basis of failing to disclose particulars of their means which included 635 persons under 25 years of age.

Given the relatively small numbers of people aged under 25 years of age whose claims were refused on means grounds, I do not consider that there is any understatement of unemployment among that group, based on Live Register statistics. In any event, the official statistics on unemployment are derived from the Quarterly National Household Survey which is entirely independent of the Live Register.