58,000 people await welfare payments in claims backlog

THE number of unemployed people being left in financial despair as they wait for welfare payments has spiralled to 58,000 – pushing the real jobless total to almost half a million.

Claims are taking up to three months to be processed, with Cork, Galway and Dublin showing the most worrying increases in the backlog.

Pending applications for jobseeker’s benefit or allowance in Cork total 3,303, with 2,223 outstanding in Limerick, 3,324 in Galway and more than 14,000 in Dublin.

Small towns are also showing a significant build-up with 235 people waiting for support in Clonakilty and 162 in Bantry, according to figures released to Fine Gael by the Social and Family Affairs Department showing that 58,282 claims are pending nationally.

Fine Gael frontbench spokesman Simon Coveney said the delays were unacceptable and causing immense hardship for families.

“It is hard not to be cynical about all this, but mainly I think it is down to incompetence. Delays like this could have been expected a year ago when demand started to increase rapidly, but we have had a year to adjust to that, so this is certainly no longer acceptable.

“I find it extraordinary that there are almost 60,000 people waiting for jobseeker’s welfare across the country and it is proof that the published unemployment figures significantly understate the true number.

“We have feared the prospect of 500,000 unemployed for some time, but the truth is that grim spectre has already arrived.

“Cork and Galway have particularly high numbers of pending claims with both cities having over 3,000 waiting. Limerick city has over 2,000 and these numbers rise when local offices throughout the county are included. The Dublin waiting list is over 14,000 when pending claims from all local offices are added together.

“In parts of Co Cork the waiting time for a decision on welfare is 12 weeks. This is ridiculous and it’s hard not to draw the conclusion that welfare decisions are being delayed to keep the welfare bill down,” said Mr Coveney.

The shadow cabinet member added the system was discouraging people, particularly in the building trade, from taking on short-term work because they fear they will have to wait 10-12 weeks for welfare claims to be processed again when the job ends.