Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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280. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people whose welfare payment has been stopped for refusing to engage with training and/or employment supports in the years 2020 to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60886/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Entitlement to a jobseeker payment is dependent on the recipient being available for, capable of and genuinely seeking work. This reflects the concept of ‘rights and responsibilities’ whereby people who are unemployed have the right to an income support from the State and a right to be supported in their efforts to secure employment, but also have a responsibility to seek employment and to engage with the employment services offered by the State.

Intreo Employment Services supports jobseekers to find work and there are a wide range of supports on offer in terms of further education, training, upskilling, work placements as well as programmes such as Community Employment and TUS.

Jobseekers who do not engage with the Intreo Employment Service or who fail to participate in appropriate employment interventions can have their jobseeker’s payment reduced and subsequently be disqualified from their payment for up to 9 weeks. They may also have their entitlement to a Jobseekers payment reviewed based on a failure to genuinely seek work.

A reduced rate is a final step in a process to encourage a jobseeker to avail of the employment supports on offer and once a jobseeker resumes engagement the reduced rate is lifted immediately. Whether a reduced rate applies, and the duration of its application is totally within the control of the claimant.

The table below provides a breakdown of reduced rates applied in the years 2023, 2024 and from January to the end of October 2025. It is not possible to provide a breakdown on the reason why the reduced rate was applied. The Deputy may wish to note that during the period of the Covid 19 pandemic, the application of the reduced rate process was suspended and was gradually re-introduced over the course of 2023. It is possible that a person may have more than one reduced rates applied throughout the course of the year.