Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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124. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who have had a penalty applied to their social protection payment, for refusing to take part in a labour activation scheme, including the schemes the refusal referred to, in tabular form. [4170/16]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, 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 claim, may be imposed where a client fails to meet the stated conditions. A jobseeker claim may be reviewed at any time in order to establish 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.

Where a person continues to fail, without good cause, to comply with activation measures, while on a penalty rate, he/she may be disqualified from receiving the personal rate of payment. The normal rate of payment may be reinstated at any time, if the jobseeker complies, as requested, with activation measures.

Details of the penalty rates applied since their inception in 2011 to the end of 2015 are provided in tabular form below. Breakdown of scheme type is unavailable.