Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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5. To ask the Minister for Social Protection where she has found that a jobseeker who is one of a couple has no entitlement following an assessment of household means, if it is unfair that this person is not entitled to a basic income similar to that of a dependent jobseeker who is under 25 years of age, where legislation allows that young persons dependent on their parents are allowed a minimum of €40 per week; if she will allow for a basic minimum income for adults in households to allow them some level of financial independence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8656/16]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Jobseeker’s allowance is a means tested social protection scheme. In the case of a couple, account is taken of the means of both members of the couple and this reflects the fact that married couples, civil partners and cohabitants are financially interdependent on each other.

The jobseeker’s allowance scheme features a range of disregards and tapering arrangements where one or both members of the couple are working. Where, for example, the spouse, civil partner or cohabitee is in employment, the employed person can earn up to €31,410 per annum (gross) before entitlement is fully withdrawn from the jobseeker’s allowance claimant (assuming no other means). In the case of a couple with two children, the equivalent figure is €36,815 per annum. The introduction of a minimum level of entitlement where, ordinarily, there is no entitlement because of the level of means of one or both of the parties would represent a significant change to the provision of means-tested payments in Ireland and would target additional resources at households not currently entitled including some higher income households.

Where a jobseeker’s allowance claimant is aged under 25, the value of the benefit and privilege derived from living with a parent or step-parent is assessed for means test purposes. In practice, benefit and privilege is taken to mean the value of board and lodging to applicants residing in the home of parents and the value of same is assessed by reference to a formula (with a wide range of income disregards). The purpose of the assessment is to achieve a degree of equity as between applicants who have this benefit and those who have not, and between people living in relatively better-off households and those whose circumstances are less well off.

Where the claimant’s means are in excess of the statutory rate of jobseeker’s allowance, no payment is made. Where the claimant’s means result in an entitlement to jobseeker’s allowance of a rate of €1 per week or less than €40 per week, a minimum payment of €40 per week is paid. Accordingly, the current arrangements guarantee a minimum rate of payment where there is an underlying entitlement to jobseeker’s allowance in the first instance and does not apply where this is not the case. It should be noted, in this regard, that the assessment of the value of benefit and privilege does not imply that there is a direct financial transfer from a parent to the adult child and the current arrangements ensure that the jobseeker has access to some direct cash support. Such arrangements are not available to jobseekers who do not have an underlying entitlement to a payment because they reside in higher income parental households.

Changes to the means testing arrangements for jobseeker’s allowance will be a matter for the incoming Government.