Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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637. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection whether the long application processing times for social welfare payments to school bus drivers during annual school holiday periods will be streamlined, as there are many cases where drivers are without any income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26035/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Educational Sector Workers (ESWs), including school bus drivers, who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off during the school breaks can apply for a jobseeker’s payment. They must satisfy all the qualifying conditions to receive a payment. This includes completing the relevant claim application forms and supporting documentation a in a timely manner while also being available for full-time work and genuinely seeking work at each school break.

A jobseeker’s payment is only paid for days of unemployment where the person is not being remunerated for by their employer, including receipt of any holiday pay entitlement during the school break.

Those who have previously been in contact with my Department, are issued with a repeat jobseeker’s application form and a holiday entitlement form in advance of the school holiday periods. This advance process facilitates an efficient service to these customers and allows for speedy processing of their claim when the period of unemployment actually arises.

It is important to note that Educational Sector Workers, including school bus drivers, are still required to sign on for each period of unemployment and satisfy all the qualifying conditions for a jobseeker’s payment. As each claim is assessed individually, and each person's employment history, including previous claims is different, the payment due will also be different.

It should be noted, there is no specific scheme available for Educational Sector Workers when they are temporarily laid-off during all the school breaks. The appropriate scheme is jobseeker’s subject to the person meeting all the qualifying conditions including being available for full-time work and genuinely seeking work.

Over the last number of years my Department has dedicated teams working solely on Education Sector Workers claims in order to minimise delays for people. However, the large volume of jobseeker's claims received at the school breaks means that some decisions on these claims may take a number of weeks to process. If any customer is in urgent financial need my Department’s Community Welfare Service can provide assistance while they wait for their claim to be processed.

I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.