Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 April 2013
17. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide figures for the number of persons who have had their unemployment assistance and unemployment benefit cut because her Department was not satisfied that sufficient effort was being made by the people concerned to find employment. [18968/13]
View answerA jobseeker claim can be disallowed where the customer fails to meet the conditions of the scheme, including the requirement to be available for full-time work and genuinely seeking work. Continued entitlement to payment is also subject to review on an on-going basis and in this context I assume the Deputy is referring to the application of penalty rates to jobseeker claims. Reduced payment rates (penalty rates) for jobseekers were introduced in April 2011 as a means of achieving the engagement of jobseekers with activation measures, including the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP). A penalty of up to €44 per week applies to an individual’s jobseeker payment where there is a failure to engage with this process. The total number of penalty rates applied during 2012 was 1,455. From January to March 2013 the number of penalty rates applied was 619.
