Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 July 2017
258. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason jobseeker's allowance and rent supplement was cut from a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9 leaving them without financial support for the past two months; the reason there was no response to medical correspondence and correspondence outlining part-time employment submitted to her Department on a number of occasions; and if she will reinstate both payments. [32024/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraNotification was received from the Revenue Commissioners on 3 March indicating that the person concerned had commenced employment. As is normal in such cases the Department contacted the customer to establish the circumstances and correspondence commenced. Following receipt of the customer’s correspondence on 12 and 21 March 2017 an official in the Department contacted them by phone on 30 March 2017 to outline the immediate steps the customer needed to take to secure their payment.
With regard to the customer’s correspondence outlining part time employment an official in the Department advised the customer that they must, as is usual in such cases, return the relevant paperwork for the Department to verify the nature and extent of the declared employment.
With regard to the customer’s correspondence outlining her medical situation the Deputy will appreciate that one of the conditions for a person to receive a job seeker payment is that they are capable of full time employment. Where a customer cannot work as a result of an illness they should contact the office who will assist them with applying for a more appropriate payment.
The customer was also advised on 30 March 2017 that there was a job interview scheduled for 6 April 2017, in an area in which they held a qualification in and had expressed an interest in working in, and that non-attendance would affect her payment. The customer did not attend the interview on 6 April and after a number of weeks of no further contact the customer’s claim was deemed to be closed. This initiated a review of the customer’s rent supplement claim.
If the customer wishes to continue with their claim they will need to provide the previously requested details regarding their declared casual employment. The relevant official will contact the customer to discuss the customer’s claim and again advise of the steps required. The customer’s rent supplement claim will be reassessed at that point.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
