Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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365. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons on jobseeker's allowance who have had their allowance reduced as a result of penalties imposed by her Department; if she will provide a breakdown of the numbers by the reasons for these penalties imposed; the total savings from penalty measures; the average length of the sanctions imposed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19303/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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In order to qualify for a Jobseeker payment, a person must meet certain conditions, including the requirement to be available for, capable of and genuinely seeking full-time work. A range of sanctions, including disqualification, closure or disallowance of the jobseeker’s claim, may be imposed where a client fails to meet the stated conditions. A jobseeker’s claim may be reviewed at any time in order to establish a person’s continued entitlement.

Additionally, in relation to activation, legislation provides that further sanctions/penalties in the form of reduced payments may be imposed by a Deciding Officer where clients fail, without good cause, to comply with activation measures. Activation measures include the requirement to attend group or individual meetings, and/or avail of suitable education, training or development opportunities, or specified employment programmes, which are considered appropriate to a person’s circumstances.

Total numbers of reduced rates applied, since their introduction in Q2 2011, are as follows:

Departmental savings result from control activity where a claim is reduced or terminated as a result of unreported customer error or fraud. The saving is the future amount of money estimated to be saved by the Department on a claim in payment. The primary aim of penalty rate sanctions is to achieve engagement and co-operation by jobseekers with the Department in its efforts to provide interventions and opportunities to the individual to reconnect them with the labour market. As such, their purpose is to act initially as a deterrent to non-compliance with activation measures and then as a means to increase compliance.

Penalty rate sanctions are imposed for varying durations, determined by the circumstances and activities of individual jobseekers, and normal payment is reinstated following compliance with activation measures.