At present the maximum amount of unemployment assistance for a husband, spouse and one child is £116.20 per week. In such a case if a mortgage supplement of £35 per week is also payable then the total weekly household income amounts to £151.20.
If the spouse of the claimant were to take up employment for 16 hours say two days, and had earnings of £60 per week the rate of unemployment assistance payable would fall to £101.20 and the family would no longer be entitled, on means grounds, to a mortgage supplement. Thus the total household income would then amount to £161.20, not £196.000 as stated in the question.
Where the spouse of the claimant works for 32 hours, say four days, each week and earns £120 per week the rate of unemployment assistance is further reduced, but the working spouse could then claim family income supplement of £25 per week thus bringing the total household income to £178.10 per week, not £154.00 as stated in the question, which means that the household is £24 better off not £3 better off as stated in the question.
Furthermore as part of the budget package I have recently announced a range of measures which will give people in these circumstances an even greater incentive to take up employment. First, a tapered retention of the adult dependant payment will be introduced in October next for persons in receipt of unemployment benefit and assistance, disability benefit and allowance and pre-retirement allowance. Under this arrangement the adult dependant payment will be retained on a sliding scale where the individual takes up work earning more than £60 per week. Second, the weekly income thresholds for family income supplement are being increased by £10 and the supplement will be calculated on the basis of gross earnings less superannuation contributions and PRSI instead of on total gross earnings as at present. I will be introducing the necessary legislative changes as part of the Social Welfare Bill which I intend to bring before the House shortly.
