Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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597. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection why school bus escorts who have to sign on during school holidays have faced delays of up to five weeks to receive their payment; and the measures he is taking to ensure this does not occur again at future holiday periods. [52078/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Workers, including school bus escorts, who are not paid for holidays during the school breaks and who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off can apply for a jobseeker’s payment. 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 break.

Over the last number of years my Department has dedicated teams working solely on temporary laid-off claims, including those of school bus escorts, in order to streamline processes and minimise delays for people. 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. As each claim is assessed individually, and each person's employment and claim history is different, the payment due will also be different.

In addition, my Department is working on technical enhancements that will improve the processing of these Jobseekers applications.

If any customer is in urgent financial need my Department’s Community Welfare Service may provide assistance.

I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.