Welfare payments will be cut if jobseekers ‘don’t play ball’
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.
In the Sligo office, the applicant is assigned a case worker, undertakes one-on-one interviews, signs up to a personal progression plan and, crucially, a “social contract” undertaking to adhere to the principles of the scheme or face cuts in payments.
Staff from the Community Welfare Service, who had operated under the HSE, and from Fás, will work under the centralised Intreo system. The Sligo centre is processing 100 new applications for payment every day, but Kieran O’Dwyer, a director manager at the centre, said control measures had been maintained.
Applicants can also apply online but will be expected to attend meetings with their advisor, group meetings with other jobseekers, provide documentation on their means, employment history and education, and take steps to secure work.
About 500 people have engaged with Intreo in Sligo since Jul 3, and of those, 100 had signed off before the group meeting stage.
About 370 people were interviewed and of those, 350 signed up to a personal progression plan, 20% of whom moved on to work or education.
Mr O’Dwyer said the system was targeting those most at risk of long-term unemployment. Of the 350 people who signed up to a personalised plan, 230 have engaged with follow-up actions and 30 were brought in for second interviews.
The national rebranding and launching of Intreo has cost €51,000. Ms Burton said other savings were being effected through the streamlining of services.
The system also makes use of the new public service card, which captures an electronic signature and photo of the client and which utilises face recognition technology. About 30,000 people already have the card and it is planned it will be issued to 100,000 people in the future.
The penalties for refusing to adhere to the terms of the social contract, such as failing to keep appointments or disclosing changes in means, results in an incremental cut in payments.
Ms Burton also stressed that the new system was beneficial for employers, including having links with the JobsBridge programme and finding qualified personnel to fill vacancies.
The minister also said anyone wishing to take up short-term work over Christmas can use the Intreo system to suspend their payments for a period of time before resuming once the period of work has finished.
