Latest: Unemployed offered €5k a year extra to work on dairy farms

Update 10am: There's been a mixed reaction to a new social welfare plan to stop people 'milking' the system.

People who are on the dole are being offered up to €5,000 a year more if they will work on a dairy farm.

The project is being trialled in Waterford and Kilkenny to help combat a labour shortage in the sector.

Earlier: An increase in the number of young people signing-on has sparked debate about the dole for under-25s.

CSO figures show over 32,000 young people are on the Live Register - an increase of 2,500 since April.

Currently the maximum dole rate for someone aged 18 to 25 is €102 - with calls for it to be increased.

However founder of the consumer website askaboutmoney.com Brendan Burgess thinks it should be scrapped.

"We have developed a society where we're telling people 'listen, don't worry, no need to work, no need to study'," he said.

"If you start paying people the dole at the age of 18 in this country they will stay unemployed, they will never get off the dole. People are just not bothering to work."

Deputy Director of the National Youth Council of Ireland, James Doorley disagrees.

"We don't want any young person to be unemployed, but the reality is there aren't jobs out there," he said.

"If you go on websites there certainly are vacancies available but the latest Live Register figures show that around 270,000 people are signing on. There aren't 270,000 vacancies out there.

"We need the social welfare system to give people a quality of life."