asked the Minister for Social Welfare if a person who is either on unemployment assistance or unemployment benefit would continue to qualify for that payment even if they had been selected to represent Ireland in a major international sporting contest abroad and would therefore not technically speaking be available for work for the duration of their period of time out of the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Unemployment Benefit and Assistance Qualification.
145.
It is a fundamental condition for the receipt of unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance that a person must be available for and genuinely seeking work. Unemployed benefit and unemployment assistance claimants would not be regarded as satisfying this condition during periods when they are absent from the State.
The only exception to this arises in the application of EC Regulations 1408/71 for Migrant Workers which allow payment of unemployment benefit for up to three months to recipients who travel to another member state to seek employment.
Accordingly, an unemployed person who goes abroad to compete in an international sporting contest would not be entitled to payment for the period of absence.