More than 10,200 unemployed people had their social welfare payments reduced last year over their failure to fully cooperate with efforts to find them work.
New figures published by the Department of Social Protection also show that the number of jobseekers penalised for their lack of engagement with employment activation programmes is more pronounced in certain counties including Waterford, Limerick, Wexford, Louth and Laois.
They also reveal that the number of jobseekers affected by reduced social welfare rates almost doubled last year.
Official figures provided in response to a parliamentary question by Social Democrats TD, Aidan Farrelly, show that 10,232 unemployed individuals had their social welfare payments reduced in 2024, compared to 5,235 the previous year.
However, the Department of Social Protection said reduced rates were gradually introduced during 2023 after the application of reductions to social welfare payments for unemployed persons was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Commenting on the figures, the Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary said his department was committed through the Pathways to Work programme to encourage the take-up of employment opportunities including by the implementation of reduced rates “for non-engagement with the Intreo employment service.”
A reduction in social welfare payments to unemployed persons was introduced in 2011 as a measure to encourage jobseekers to cooperate with efforts to find them work.
“Entitlement to a jobseeker payment is dependent on the recipient being available for, capable of and genuinely seeking work,” Mr Calleary said.
“This reflects the concept of ‘rights and responsibilities’ whereby people who are unemployed have the right to an income support from the State and a right to be supported in their efforts to secure employment, but also have a responsibility to seek employment and to engage with the employment services offered by the State.”
However, Mr Calleary stressed that a reduced rate was “a final step in a process to encourage a jobseeker to avail of employment supports on offer.”
The Minister pointed out that the reduced rate is lifted once a jobseeker resumes engagement with relevant services.
“Whether a reduced rate applies and the duration of its application is totally within the control of the claimant,” he added.
Mr Calleary said it was not possible to provide a breakdown of reasons why jobseekers had reduced rates applied to their payments.
The Minister pointed out that there is a wide range of supports for jobseekers including further education, training, upskilling, and work placements as well as Community Employment schemes and the Tús programme.
The figures show that 3,356 people in Dublin had their jobseeker payment rates reduced last year – the highest number for any county as expected for the most populated area.
However, Waterford had the second highest number of unemployed people who were penalised over their lack of engagement with employment activation programmes with 658 followed by Limerick (649), Cork (556), and Wexford (502).
Other counties with comparatively high numbers of sanctions applied to jobseekers included Louth (441), Laois (326), and Longford (119).
In contrast, several counties had relatively few jobseekers affected by reduced rates including Kildare (336), Donegal (237), Meath (198), and Kilkenny (44).
The lowest number of sanctions applied were to unemployed persons in Carlow (31), Sligo (32), and Roscommon (35).
Commenting on the figures, Mr Farrelly noted the minister’s explanation for the increase in the number of unemployed individuals sanctioned last year.
However, he also remarked: “It is important to remember that this could be due to the department still scaling up its use of this mechanism post-pandemic.”
The Kildare North TD said he intended to follow up with the minister to see if there was any ramping up of the measure in some parts of the country as there were sizable percentage increases in some counties.
However, Mr Farrelly also advised: “Having a reduced rate is a last option for the department and persons can work with employment services to avoid this occurrence.”
