John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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1891. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of jobseeker’s applications received from educational sector workers temporarily laid off during the summer months in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44089/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The number of persons in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance or Jobseeker's Benefit where, according to Revenue records, there was an open employment with an employer in the Education sector (based on NACE Rev 2.1) is set out in the table below. This information is not collated at county level.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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1892. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the measures taken by his Department to alleviate delays for educational sector workers applying for a jobseeker’s payment while temporarily laid off during school breaks given the predictable nature of the applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44090/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Educational sector workers who are not paid outside of school term time and who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off during the school breaks can apply for a jobseeker’s payment. A jobseeker’s payment is paid for days of unemployment for which the person is not being remunerated by their employer. Receipt of any holiday pay entitlement during the school break is taken into account.

The person applying must satisfy all the qualifying conditions to receive a payment. This includes completing the relevant claim application forms and providing supporting documentation in a timely manner while also being available for full-time work and genuinely seeking work at each school break.

Educational Sector Workers (ESWs) who have previously had a claim 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 claims when the period of unemployment actually arises, provided that the information is returned in a timely manner.

Over the last number of years my Department has dedicated teams working solely on Education Sector Workers claims in order to streamline processes and minimise delays for people. As each claim is assessed individually, and each person's employment and claim history is different, the payment due will also be different. 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 may provide assistance while they wait for their claim to be processed.