Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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110. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the provisions in place in previous years regarding the working of twilight hours and the retention of social welfare benefits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17257/14]

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 qualifying condition of both schemes that a person must be fully unemployed for four in any period of seven consecutive days. A person is not regarded as unemployed for any day in which s/he is engaged in self-employment, is working under a contract of employment (written or otherwise) or is in receipt of wages. There are no provisions in place, nor have there ever been regarding the working of twilight hours and the retention of jobseekers’ payments.