asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will consider withdrawing from means assessment, the value of benefit and privilege of free board and lodging from young people applying for unemployment assistance.
Written Answers. - Unemployment Assistance.
32.
An unemployed person's entitlement to unemployment assistance is assessed according to his or her means and family circumstances. Where weekly means exceed the maximum levels of unemployment assistance, no assistance is payable; otherwise the amount payable is the maximum amount appropriate to the family circumstances reduced by the amount of means assessed.
Where an applicant for unemployment assistance is a single person living at home the value of board and lodgings is taken into account in assessing his means for unemployment assistance. The purpose of the assessment is to use available resources as effectively as possible and to achieve a degree of equality as between applicants living in better circumstances and those whose circumstanceas are poor. To disregard the value of free board and lodging in the assessment of means would have major financial implications and there are no plans to do so at present.