Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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99. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will reconsider the method by which casual workers are means assessed for receipt of jobseeker's payments, that is, where a person can lose social welfare entitlement for a full day when working only for one or two hours of that day, thus acting as a deterrent to those wishing to return to work; if she will consider permitting a jobseeker to work a set number of hours per week to a maximum cap while still maintaining a payment on a sliding scale from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16921/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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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 full-time employment. The 2014 Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseekers’ schemes of €3.28 billion.

It is a fundamental condition of both schemes that a person must be fully unemployed for four days in any period of seven consecutive days in order to qualify for a jobseeker’s payment. Therefore a person who works more than three days every week, will not qualify for a jobseeker’s payment.

Under the jobseeker’s benefit scheme, provided an individual works three days or less per week they will lose €37.60 of their jobseeker’s payment for every day they work. Under the jobseeker’s allowance scheme provided a jobseeker works three days or less per week and they satisfy the means test they will receive a jobseeker’s allowance payment for that week.

Where a jobseeker takes up employment the part-time job incentive scheme may, subject to scheme criteria, support them in making such a transition to employment. The scheme allows persons who are long-term unemployed to take up part-time employment for less than 24 hours per week and receive a weekly income supplement. Participants in this scheme are expected to continue to make efforts to find full-time work.

It is recognised that a changing labour market has resulted in a move away from the more traditional work patterns, resulting in an increase in the number of persons employed for less than a full week. This is an important policy issue for my Department but any changes to the current criteria could have significant cost implications.

The Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare, which has already reported to me on a number of important policy areas, is now looking at the whole area of atypical work including the structure and operation of the jobseekers’ schemes. I look forward to their recommendations on this issue over the coming months.