Eric J. Byrne
Question:174 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Social Welfare if there are new regulations (details supplied) in regard to assessing part time workers for unemployment assistance and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Unemployment Assistance Assessment.
The Social Welfare Act, 1992 provides for the assessment as means for Unemployment Assistance (UA) purposes of earnings from insurable employment.
The purpose of this change is to ensure that there is a consistent approach in the assessment of earnings by treating employees and the self-employed in a similar way. In the case of the self-employed, their income has always been assessed in full and deducted from the basic UA in determining their entitlement. Assessing income from insurable employment in broadly the same way is in line with the overall objective of removing anomalies and reducing the complexity of the social welfare system.
In implementing the new arrangements, I am conscious of the need to maintain some financial incentive for unemployed people to take up occasional employment where the opportunity arises. Under present arrangements, there is, in respect of each week, in addition to a disregard to the equivalent of the person's appropriate daily rate of UA for each day worked, an additional disregard to £10. For example, a married man with three children working a three day week whose maximum weekly UA rate would be £149 would have a disregard of £74.50 (£64.50 plus £10). The balance of his earnings would then be assessed as means in determining the rate of Unemployment Assistance payable for days of unemployment.
I am keeping the present arrangements under review and will be examining the possibility of giving greater incentives with the Social Welfare system for unemployed people to take up work.