Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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163. To ask the Minister for Social Protection his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22395/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The jobseeker’s allowance scheme is a means-tested social assistance scheme which provides income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The 2017 Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseeker’s allowance scheme of €2.1 billion.

In the case of persons aged under 25 years of age, the means test for jobseeker’s allowance takes account of the value of any benefit and privilege enjoyed by a claimant as a result of residing with a parent or step-parent and the calculation of such value is based on the level of parental net income. Once the person concerned reaches 25 years of age, the value of any benefit and privilege will no longer be regarded as means.

For means test purposes, account is taken of the income and assets of both the claimant and his or her spouse/partner including the earnings of the spouse. A disregard of €20 per day is applied to the earnings for each day worked subject to a maximum of €60 per week and the balance is assessed at 60%.

Lower weekly rates for younger jobseekers were first introduced in the Supplementary Budget in 2009 and further extended in subsequent Budgets up to 2014. The rationale for these rates is to prevent young unemployed people from entering longer term welfare dependency by providing a strong financial incentive to take up a job, or a training or education programme. It should be noted that jobseekers who are under 26 years of age who have children are not subject to the reduced rates of jobseeker’s allowance.

Unemployment among young people is falling at a faster rate than among the general population and I am determined that we help more young people in the most effective way possible, by supporting them into the workforce, education or training. For that reason, on Budget day 2017 I announced additional incentives for young people to participate in education. From September 2017 when a young jobseeker participates on the Back to Education scheme, he or she will be entitled to receive the full maximum rate of jobseeker’s payment, which will then be €193 per week, as against the €160 which they are currently on. This is the largest single increase in the social welfare package and demonstrates our commitment to young jobseekers who seek to enhance their skills.

Any proposal to increase the rates of jobseeker’s allowance for people under 26 would be a matter for Government to consider in a budgetary context.