Jobseekers will have to claim their payments from the post office

Managing director of An Post Debbie Byrne and  Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys at the announcement that jobseeker payments will return to the post office in line with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Picture: Maxwells

The payment of jobseeker allowances will return to the post office in line with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys has announced.

The changes will initially apply to all new jobseeker applicants, before being extended to other jobseekers over the coming months.

Ms Humphreys said it would create more businesses for branches, but would also help tackle social welfare fraud, as individuals will have to present at their local post office.

When public health restrictions were introduced in 2020, people in receipt of social welfare were given the option of being paid into a bank account.

This was an exceptional measure to help reduce the spread of the virus and ensure people could comply with social distancing guidelines

Ms Humphreys said the change would mean more people would be coming into the post office to collect their payments.

"That increases the footfall in the post offices so increases business," she said.

"It also has another advantage in terms of people have to come in and present. We have heard media reports and we know of instances where people were collecting their payment and weren't actually in the country. 

So you must present in your post office to get payment and what I want to see is the right payment to the right person at the right time."

However, she said the "majority" of people who receive social welfare payments deserve it.

Ms Humphreys added: There are those who try to commit fraud in the system, that's wrong. We have a special investigations unit and we continue to follow up on reports that we get from the public, reports we get from employers and also we work very closely with the gardaí and there have been quite a number of people caught that shouldn't be claiming the benefits and we continue to pursue them and to get the money back."

Welcoming the announcement, Irish Postmasters' Union general secretary Ned O'Hara said the change was one of a number of "small steps" that must be made to support post offices and secure the future of the network.

He called on the Government to use the post office network for other services.

Mr O'Hara said: "It's very important that the interdepartmental report from the Government recognises the rest of the services that we can provide. We are after proving ourselves through Covid, we have an infrastructure, we can provide services, we are there to provide services. But it would have to be for a contract fee as opposed to being paid per transactions, it's important that it's a contract fee."

Ms Humphreys said the Department of Social Protection would continue to contribute to supporting the post office network through the interdepartmental group, which was set up by her Cabinet colleague, Minister Hildegarde Naughton.