Brendan Griffin
Question:148. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if her reform plans would make allowances for a situation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57494/12]
View answerThursday, 20 December 2012
Questions (148)
Written answers
Social welfare legislation provides that a person must satisfy the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work in order to be entitled to jobseeker’s benefit. Any person who fails to satisfy these conditions is not entitled to a jobseeker’s benefit payment.
Part-time fire-fighters are entitled to a jobseeker’s benefit payment in respect of days that they are engaged in fire-fighting or training. They are, however, required to satisfy the statutory conditions for the receipt of a jobseeker’s payment of being available for and genuinely seeking work.
In this regard social welfare regulations provide that every claimant shall furnish such certificates, documents, information and evidence as may be required by an officer of the Minister, for the purposes of deciding the claim and in any particular class of case, shall, for the purposes of making any such claim, attend at such office or place as an officer of the Minister may direct. There are no plans to alter these specific provisions.
My Department is currently examining the position of these workers vis-à-vis the jobseeker’s schemes and the unusual circumstances of retained fire brigade personnel. As part of this process officials in my Department are also in discussions with their counterparts from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government concerning this issue. Deliberations in relation to the position of these workers are on-going and final decisions have not been made with regard to potential changes to existing arrangements.
Question No. 149 withdrawn.