Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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223. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the number of persons who receive jobseeker's allowance at a rate below €188; the reason for this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41893/14]

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 employment. The revised estimates for the Department of Social Protection provide for expenditure of €3.3bn in 2014 in respect of the jobseeker’s schemes.

It is a fundamental qualifying condition for these schemes that a person must be available for and genuinely seeking full-time work. In the case of jobseeker’s allowance they must satisfy a means test.

The application of means, where the amount of jobseeker's allowance payable is reduced due to the customer having income from work or other sources, is the primary reason why a jobseeker may receive an amount below €188. Other reasons include the application of reduced rates in respect of persons aged under 26, the application of penalty rates, limitation of the total amount that may be paid to a couple, the application of benefit and privilege rules in respect of certain customers and the recovery of overpayments.

As at 19 September 2014, just over half (54%) of the people on the Live Register were receiving less than the maximum personal weekly Jobseekers Allowance (JA) / Jobseekers Benefit (JB) rate of €188.

- 19% or 72,910 received no payment at all. Of these:

-35,325 (9%) signed for PRSI credits only; and

-37,585 (10%) were suspended, disallowed or pending award.

- 15% or 57,377 received a payment for part of the week only.

- The remaining 19% or 72,098 received JA or JB of less than the maximum personal rate. This included:

- 36,305 (10%) on a reduced rate of JA due to their means (and/or penalty rates applied due to non-compliance);

- 30,820 (8%) on the reduced rate of JA for those aged under 26 (these cases may also be penalty-rated);

- 4,973 (1%) on a graduated rate of JB.