2,000 see dole cut for missing work schemes

Nearly 2,000 people had their dole cut last year for not attending back-to-work schemes.

Benefits were slashed by about 23% for 1,807 jobseekers as a penalty for failing to engage with case managers, and skipping interviews and group sessions.

According to the Department of Social Protection’s annual report for 2012, the penalties were put in place to encourage people to try to find work and get off the Live Register.

“In addition, changes were made to the definition of the working week and for the inclusion of Sunday working in the calculation of jobseeker’s benefit/allowance payable,” said the report.

“These changes help towards a reduction in the reliance on the welfare system and make the jobseeker schemes more relevant to the modern labour market.”

The report revealed that while jobseekers had their dole cut as a result of the penalty system, the number of people actively trying to get back to work increased.

Attendance rates at group engagement sessions and one-to-one meetings with case managers reached 90% last year.

That was up more than 30% from 2011, when the attendance levels were below 60%.

Elsewhere, the department admitted its national internship scheme JobBridge was biased towards younger people. The scheme provides internship opportunities of either six or nine months for unemployed individuals on the Live Register in organisations in the private, public, and community sectors.

“As employers can specify work placements and select candidates, participation on the scheme is biased slightly towards younger people,” said the report.

Over 13,200 internships had commenced at the end of 2012 through the scheme. The number of available places was increased from 5,000 to 6,000 in May last year and eligibility criteria was widened to include disability allowance and one-parent family payment claimants.

Elsewhere, the report claimed that nearly 1.5m people received a welfare payment every week in 2012. It said, when qualified adults and children are included, almost 2.3m people benefited from weekly payments from the Department of Social Protection. The total expenditure by the department in 2012 was €20.7bn.

Commenting on the report, Social Protection Minister Joan Burton said the figures highlighted the scale of the work done by the department, which she said impacts upon almost every person living in the State.

“But the department is no longer focused just on income supports. Social welfare must be both a safety net and a springboard. Since taking office, my focus has been on transforming the department from the passive benefits provider of old to one that actively engages with jobseekers to help them back to work.”