Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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723. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the full cost in 2018 for abolishing the reduced jobseeker's allowance rates for persons under 26 years of age. [39792/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The full year cost of increasing the age-related reduced rates of Jobseeker’s Allowance, from €102.70 per week (for 18 to 24 year olds) and €147.80 per week (for 25 year olds) to €193 per week is €108.9 million in 2018. This includes the cost of bringing the qualified adult rate for those on the €102.70 rate up to the maximum of €128.20 per week. It also includes the cost of increasing the equivalent age-related reduced rates for Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

It should be noted that these costings are subject to change over the coming weeks in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2018.