Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 October 2013
397. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Social Protection the short term plans that are in place to reduce barriers to volunteering for unemployed persons; and if she will consider the formation of a national strategy to support volunteering. [41019/13]
View answerThe jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker’s allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The Revised Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure on the jobseeker’s schemes of €3.66 billion in 2013. 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 or jobseeker’s allowance. Any person who fails to satisfy these conditions is not entitled to a jobseeker’s payment.
However, the Department does encourage people to engage in voluntary work within the State. Any person who engages in voluntary work may continue to be entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit or Allowance provided that, in engaging in the voluntary work, the customer continues to satisfy the statutory conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work. Examples of voluntary work in which jobseekers may engage include:
- helping the sick, elderly or persons with a disability;
- assisting youth clubs, church groups, sports groups, cultural organisations, local resident associations.
The groups involved may be nationally organised groups or local voluntary or community groups. The aim of the Voluntary Work Option is twofold, namely – to encourage voluntary organisations to involve jobseekers to the greatest extent possible in their existing activities by creating new opportunities for voluntary work and to inform jobseekers of their freedom to involve themselves in voluntary work and to encourage them to do so. In addition, the existing Community Employment Scheme, operated by FÁS, offers the opportunity to unemployed persons to participate in paid employment in the social economy.
Consideration of a national strategy to support volunteering would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in the first instance.
