Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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52. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason the work allowance for persons on jobseeker's transitional is €60 whereas the work allowance for one-parent family payment is €90; if a case can be made for a single parent who formerly received the one-parent family payment, but who now receives the jobseeker's transitional payment, to continue to receive the work allowance at the higher rate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21003/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The jobseeker’s transitional payment was introduced by the Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2013, as a special arrangement under the jobseeker’s allowance (JA) scheme for lone parents who have a youngest child aged 7 to 13 years inclusive.

Lone parents who are in receipt of the jobseeker’s transitional payment are exempt from the JA scheme conditions that require them to be available for, and genuinely seeking, full-time work. They can work part-time without restrictions, participate in education and still receive the transitional payment – subject to a means test. As such, the jobseeker’s transitional payment takes into account the specific caring responsibilities of these customers, allows them to balance their work and caring responsibilities and, significantly, reduces their requirement for child care.

As the jobseeker’s transitional payment is part of the JA scheme, both its means test and its maximum weekly rate of payment are the same as that of the JA payment. Income from work is assessed with an earnings disregard of €20 per day of employment, up to a maximum of €60 per week, and any income above that is assessed at 60%.

Recipients of the jobseeker’s transitional payment also have access to the Department’s range of Intreo services, and to related supports, to enable them to become job-ready and/or to find employment. This includes a one to one meeting with one of the Department’s case officers who will assist them to produce a personal development plan to progress into education, training and/or employment. The case officer will then support them to implement this plan by providing them with access to the wide range of educational and employment supports that are available within the Department.