Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
705. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will give due consideration to ending the ‘four-over-seven-day rule’, which prevents home support workers from claiming part-time jobseeker’s allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36176/23]
View answerMy Department supports part-time working through a number of schemes, including casual and systematic short-time work arrangements for people on jobseeker payments. Under the current system a person can work up to three days and still receive a partial jobseeker payment. This provision applies to all recipients, regardless of the type of employment or profession. In addition, the Department provides the Working Family Payment for working families on low incomes, which is not based on days worked.
The Government is conscious of the recruitment and retention challenges in the home and community care sector and is supportive of properly informed measures to increase capacity in the sector. Towards this end, it established a Strategic Workforce Advisory Group to look at the labour force challenges facing providers of home-care services. The Group’s Report was published in October 2022, following extensive consultation, and found a range of issues impacting on the shortages in home carers and nursing home healthcare assistants, including the need for improvements in recruitment processes, pay and conditions of employment, training and career prospects, and wider sectoral reform.
In line with Programme for Government commitments, I recently issued a Strawman proposal for public consultation in relation to a new Pay-Related Jobseeker's Benefit payment and, in doing so, set out the parameters of a proposed Working Age Payment. Rather than using hours or days worked thresholds, this approach would utilise Revenue Commissioners real-time earnings data to adjust payment levels in line with a person’s weekly earnings. In this way it would guarantee a basic income floor and ensure that in all cases a person’s income increases when they work. This would represent a significant change and would address concerns around thresholds for days or hours worked.
My department is currently considering the responses received as part of the consultation process, which will help to inform next steps.
I trust that clarifies the position for the Deputy.
