Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

53. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back to work family dividend in County Kildare; the criteria for qualification; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38657/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The back to work family dividend (BTWFD) aims to help families to move from a weekly social welfare payment into employment. It gives financial support to people with children who were in receipt of a jobseeker or one-parent family payment and who take up employment, increase their hours of employment or become self-employed.

There were 343 persons in receipt of the back to work family dividend in County Kildare on 31 October 2015. It should be noted that these statistics indicate the number of people in payment through offices located in County Kildare. Catchment areas of many local offices cross county borders. This figure may be different, therefore, from the number of recipients actually residing in County Kildare.

The back to work family dividend provides support for up to two years after a person moves from a weekly social welfare payment into employment. If a person qualifies for the dividend for their first year in employment they will get a weekly payment equivalent to the increases for qualified children they were being paid on their jobseeker or one-parent family payment. This is up to a maximum of 4 children. Half that weekly amount will be paid for the second year in employment. The dividend is additional to any entitlement the family may have under the family income supplement (FIS) scheme.

The qualification criteria for the dividend are that customers must be in receipt of one of the following qualifying payments:

- Jobseeker’s Allowance;

- Jobseeker’s Benefit;

- One-Parent Family Payment; or

- Jobseeker’s Transition Payment (payable to customers who are parenting alone)

Customers in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment must have been in receipt of that payment for at least 12 months in order to be eligible for the dividend. The customer must exit that qualifying payment on or after the 5th January 2015 and they must be in or take up insurable employment/self-employment within four weeks. The customer must also satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition.