Vol. 500 No. 3
93 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the steps, if any, he will take to correct the situation whereby part-time workers cannot get social welfare benefit for periods when they are out of work in spite of the fact they are available for work and seeking similar part-time work, particularly for periods when work is not available to them. [3903/99]
The statutory conditions governing the award of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance payments require that a person must be available for and genuinely seeking suitable work.
In so far as part-time workers are concerned, they must therefore be available for and seeking work for the periods in which they are not employed in order to qualify for a payment. For instance, a part-time worker who works three days per week must be making efforts to find work for the other days of the week, or full-time employment elsewhere. Unemployed persons are required to provide information regarding their availability for and their efforts to secure full-time employment.
A claim for an unemployment payment will not be approved if the deciding officer is not satisfied that the claimant is available for and making reasonable efforts to find suitable employment. In making this determination the deciding officer will have regard to, among other things, the availability of employment or other suitable opportunities in the area. A deciding officer may revise his decision if the claimant subsequently demonstrates that he or she satisfies the statutory conditions for receipt of an unemployment payment. Furthermore, if a claimant is not satisfied with a deciding officer's decision regarding availability and efforts to find work, he or she may appeal the decision to the social welfare appeals office.
94 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will extend free schemes to persons who have reached the age of 66 whose spouse is approaching retirement but is claiming sickness benefit or an unemployment payment before retirement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3907/99]
The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years, or over, as well as to certain people with disabilities and people receiving the carer's allowance under that age who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments.
The other free schemes, free electricity allowance, free telephone rental allowance and free TV licence, are available to people, usually aged 66 or over, who are in receipt of a welfare type payment and who are either living alone or who otherwise satisfy this condition. In addition, widows-widowers between the ages of 60 and 65, whose late spouses had been in receipt of the free schemes, retain that entitlement.
One of the qualifying conditions for these free schemes is that the applicant must be living alone or living only with certain excepted people. Persons who are disabled may qualify as excepted people. However, people in receipt of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance do not qualify as excepted people for the purpose of the free schemes.
95 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of people per year who sign on for unemployment benefit; the percentage of these who are disallowed payment for any period due to not being available for or seeking work; if an analysis of the periods of suspension is available; if records of a person's previous contribution record is taken into account; and if a decision on the case of a person (details supplied) will be reviewed in view of its harshness and her good previous record. [3968/99]
To be entitled to unemployment benefit a person must, in addition to satisfying the contribution conditions, be capable of available for and genuinely seeking but unable to obtain suitable employment. A person who does not, in the opinion of a deciding officer, meet these conditions is disqualified from receiving unemployment benefit.
In addition, a person may be disqualified from receiving payment for a period of up to nine weeks if he or she is deemed to have left their employment voluntarily and without just cause.
The person in question made a claim for unemployment benefit on 12 September 1997. Following consideration of her case a deciding officer imposed a disqualification for a period of nine weeks from 12 September 1997, to 12 November 1997, on the grounds that she had left her employment voluntarily and without just cause.
The deciding officer also disallowed her claim on the grounds that she was not available for or genuinely seeking employment. Following further consideration of her case the deciding officer allowed the claim from 13 November 1997. Payment was made to her up until 29 November 1997 when she ceased to sign the unemployed register. As she is in receipt of a one parent family payment, she was entitled to a payment of £33.80 a week, half the weekly personal rate of unemployment benefit otherwise payable in her case.
96 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if a person (details supplied) in County Mayo is entitled to a back to work allowance in view of the fact that he was unemployed for a period greater than 12 months. [3969/99]
The objective of the back to work allowance scheme is to provide an additional financial incentive to long-term unemployed people to return to work. The scheme has a limited number of places and is targeted at people who need an additional financial incentive to return to the workforce. It is, therefore, a requirement of the scheme that an applicant must apply prior to taking up employment.
The person concerned commenced employment on 30 March 1998. He applied for the allowance on 18 January 1999. Under the rules of the scheme his application was refused as the claim was late and he had already returned to work.
