260,000 more people getting weekly welfare payments

The number of people receiving weekly welfare payments increased by 260,000 in the four years to the end of 2012 to almost 1.5m, while almost 300,000 people were on jobseeker’s allowance in December last year.

The figures are among those included in the Department of Social Protection’s report on Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services, published yesterday.

It outlined the huge spend by the department in 2012, topping €20.7bn in total expenditure — a slight fall on the figure for 2011.