Welfare payments will be cut if jobseekers ‘don’t play ball’

The Government yesterday launched its one-stop-shop model for jobseekers, with a warning that if those in receipt of benefits did not “play ball”, they would have their rates cuts.

The Intreo model was launched in Sligo yesterday by Social Protection Minister Joan Burton and the Taoiseach. It emerged that since April, 1,500 people have had penalty rates applied to their jobseeker payments because of failure to comply with the terms attached to the new system.

The system, already operating in three centres around the country, will be rolled out nationally and 10 centres should be fully integrated by the end of the year in what Ms Burton said was “a big change in culture”. Under the reform, anyone first applying for jobseekers’ payments can have their application processed in three or four days, as opposed to three or four weeks.