Some wait three months for benefits

NEWLY unemployed people are waiting for up to three months for their first social welfare payments in some parts of the country, Government figures have revealed.

While the average waiting time for the means-tested jobseekers’ allowance payment is, on average, more than five weeks, black spots around the country are experiencing substantial backlogs.

Tuam, Co Galway, where numbers signing on the live register have almost doubled in the past year, has the highest waiting time in the country, with people there waiting, on average, three months for payments.