Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

369. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reduced payment which applies to young persons under 25 in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or jobseeker's benefit who have been subject to sanctions in the form of reduced welfare payments since the introduction of Pathways to Work in 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50417/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In 2013 my Department will spend €3.66bn on jobseeker's benefit and allowance, down €130m on 2012 expenditure. Receiving the full adult rate of a jobseeker's payment at a young age can lead to welfare dependency from an early age. If they do not improve their skills, young jobseekers are at risk of becoming long term unemployed. Therefore, it is considered necessary to provide young jobseekers with a strong financial incentive to engage in education or training or to take up employment. Consequently in 2009 changes were made to jobseeker's allowance so reduced rates of payment were paid to jobseekers under 25 years of age. Currently jobseekers aged 18-21 years of age receive €100 per week, while jobseekers aged 22-24 years of age receive €144 per week. Where these individuals engage in education or training they will receive €160 per week.

A key priority for the Government's labour market activation strategy is engaging with and providing supports to unemployed persons. A key strand in this process is to ensure that each person in receipt of a jobseeker payment fulfils their personal responsibility to engage fully with the employment and training supports provided by the State, as a precondition for receipt of their welfare payments.

Sanctions in the form of reduced payment rates for jobseekers were introduced in April 2011 as a means of achieving the engagement of jobseekers with activation measures. These rates reduce the amount of personal rate payable under the jobseeker’s schemes where a person fails, without just cause, to engage with activation processes. Table 1 depicts the current rate of jobseeker’s allowance weekly payments for different age cohorts of jobseeker allowance recipients. It also depicts the amount of jobseeker allowance payment each cohort would receive if they are subject to penalty rates being applied.

Table 1: Jobseeker's Allowance Weekly Rates and Penalty Rates

Table 2 depicts the amount of jobseeker's benefit an individual can receive and the reduced rate they will receive if penalty rates are imposed on them. It should be noted that under jobseeker's benefit rates are graduated according to an individual’s earnings in the relevant tax year.

Table 2 Jobseeker's Benefit Weekly Rates and Penalty Rates