Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

292. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in 2016 to date that have been subject to sanctions by his Department; the savings made by his Department in 2016 to date due to sanctions; the administrative cost to his Department of applying sanctions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39536/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In order to qualify for a jobseeker payment, a person must meet certain conditions, including that they are unemployed and are available for, capable of and genuinely seeking full-time work. In addition to providing this income support the Department also provides employment services and supports to unemployed jobseekers and expects jobseekers who are in receipt of a payment to engage with these services in order to improve their prospects of securing employment and achieving financial self-sufficiency.

This approach is in line with the principle of ‘rights and responsibilities’ whereby an unemployed jobseeker has a right to receive income and employment supports from the State but also has a responsibility to engage with those State service if requested to do so. All jobseekers acknowledge this responsibility in writing when they claim a jobseeker payment.

Failure of a jobseeker to engage, without good cause, with the Department’s employment services can have consequences for the jobseeker’s payments. Legislation provides that a Department deciding officer can apply a reduced payment in such circumstances.

The process of applying a penalty rate includes written and verbal warnings and an opportunity for the jobseeker to re-engage with the services prior to the application of a reduced payment rate. The number of penalty rates applied from 1 January 2016 to 4 December 2016 was 10,428. Reductions in payments due to penalty rates are not recorded or considered as control savings. Therefore, a savings figure is not available.

However, on the basis that there are 1,100 – 1,300 penalty rates of payment in force at any one time, the weekly reduction in payments is estimated at circa €48,000 - €57,000 or approximately €2.5m - €3m per annum. It should be noted that the application of penalty rates of payment can be appealed and payments reinstated with refunds.

The length of time involved in the application of each penalty rate varies from case to case, depending on individual circumstances. The average administrative cost of the application of a penalty rate has been estimated at €19.73.

This calculation is based on the assumption that the decisions are made at Executive Officer level and that the process takes an hour on average, including the meeting at which a verbal warning is given, the decision to apply and the application of the penalty rate.