Latest news with #Jobseeker'sPay-RelatedBenefit
The Irish Sun
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
New €450 weekly social welfare cash WON'T be paid to key workers group after scheme axe as ‘patterns' decision confirmed
A NEW €450 weekly social welfare cash scheme WON'T be paid out to a key workers group, it's been confirmed. The government earlier this year axed the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme in favour of a 1 Minister Dara Calleary confirmed the cash won't be available to certain employees out of work Credit: JOHN MCELROY The contribution history who becomes unemployed. The "landmark" scheme Those - which is available in three different rates - qualify based on the number of personal they have made. READ MORE IN MONEY A total of 60 per cent of your prior income will be available for people who have made at least five years worth of PRSI contributions, which amounts to a maximum of €450. This will be paid for the first three months that a person is The third rate will be a maximum of €300 and is based on 50 per cent of the prior income, being paid over the final three months. The minimum payment rate available is €125 but those over 25 may qualify for more if they have children. MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN And In a Dail parliamentary question, Sinn Fein TD Padraig Mac Lochlainn queried if "post-primary teachers will be entitled to pay-related jobseeker's benefit when they become unemployed at the end of this academic year in May 2025 and where they have been unable to secure an employment contract for September 2025 ". Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary said: "Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support which has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people who are fully unemployed, who have become unemployed since 31 March 2025 and who meet the statutory conditions of the scheme. "The legislation provides that those whose employment involves a recurring pattern of employment and unemployment reflecting the academic year are not eligible for the scheme. "Factors taken into account include the pattern of the employment or previous employment of the person and the typical employment patterns in the sector in which the person is normally employed or was previously employed. "Teachers who are out of contract and are seeking to return to employment can claim the PRSI-based insurance Jobseeker's Benefit or the means-tested Jobseeker's Allowance. "There is no change to the income supports to which such persons are entitled." People may get Jobseeker's Benefit if they don't qualify for the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit if they are a part-time, casual or seasonal worker, a short-time worker, a retained fire fighter or temporarily laid-off work continuously at specific times during the year, for example, their employment is based around the school or academic year. AM I ELIGIBLE FOR NEW PAY-RELATED BENEFIT SCHEME? THERE are a number of different criteria that those seeking the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme must meet. You must have paid at least 104 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A, H or P. You also need to have paid at least four PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A or H in the 10 weeks before applying. Applicants must also have paid at least 26 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A or H in the 52 weeks before your first day of unemployment. You could be disqualified from getting Jobseeker's Allowance for up to nine weeks if you: Left work voluntarily and without just cause Lost your job through misconduct Refused an offer of suitable employment or training and you have been on a penalty rate of JA for at least 21 days You should apply for Jobseeker's Allowance the first day you become unemployed as it is not paid out for the first three days. For Jobseeker's Benefit, you must pay Class A, H or P PRSI contributions. Class A is the one paid by most employees. Class H is paid by soldiers, reservists and temporary army nurses. To qualify, you need at least 104 weeks of Class A, H or P PRSI paid contributions or at least 156 Class S PRSI contributions since you first started work. Meanwhile, Jobseeker's Allowance is a means-tested payment, so your income must be below a certain amount to get it. And to qualify, you must be looking for full-time work – and you must be able to show proof of this to the Department. The maximum personal weekly rate for Jobseeker's Allowance is €244. But core social welfare payments like the Jobseeker's Allowance CASH BOOST CALLS Social Justice Ireland's Susanne Rogers said payments needed to be increased to ensure those relying on social welfare are not "falling behind" others in society. She told the Irish Sun: "According to our calculations, if core social welfare rates were bench marked at 27.5 per cent of average earnings, the payment would currently be €266 a week, not €244 a week. "This level would mean that those relying on social welfare for all or part of their income would not be falling further behind the rest of society. "Every household in the country has seen their bills increase for the essentials - food and energy in particular. "Low income households however, have stark choices to make between those essentials when costs rise and income doesn' heat or eat response." She added that the She said: "Government must commit to bench marking payments so that those households are afforded an income level that provides for a basic but decent standard of living. "Government has anti-poverty commitments in both the Roadmap for Social Inclusion and the Sustainable Development Goals and cannot hope to meet them unless core welfare rates are addressed."
Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Government faces demands for State payments of over €450 per week for workers hit by US tariffs
Owen Reidy, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said the maximum level of a new jobseekers benefit would not 'cut it' for staff in the pharma and food and drinks sector. He was speaking after Ictu and Ibec sent a letter to Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary seeking a 'higher new scheme rate' for those facing temporary lay-off or short time working. The new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit (JPRB) is capped at €450 a week. 'If we want to protect high skilled jobs, we need to keep people connected to employment, as close enough to the rate of pay as possible,' said Mr Reidy. 'If we don't do that, these people will move to other industries and sectors and those skill sets will be lost.' He said a 'bespoke' benefit is necessary for staff in the pharma and food and drinks sector. An Ibec spokesperson said the new JPRB scheme should be amended to support those experiencing short-time working at a higher new scheme rate. She said training should also be facilitated from day one of unemployment. However, she said the business organisation is not seeking an increase in the €450 cap for the new JPRB scheme for individuals who are made redundant. 'However, for employees who are placed on short-time working the social protection payment has remained as a flat rate payment irrespective of earnings,' she said. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Meanwhile, a senior Siptu official said Donald Trump's tariff threat will have an impact on future film productions by US companies in Ireland even if he does not carry through on it. He called for an Irish film industry stakeholder meeting in light of the US president's threat to implement major tariffs on foreign films. Siptu sector organiser, Robbie Purfield, said the film and TV industry supports a large number of jobs in Ireland. He said stakeholders within the industry must discuss a unified approach to what is a threat to 'all our livelihoods'. Mr Purfield said the US market is perhaps more important to the industry in Ireland than it is to any other country due to our 'cultural affinity and shared language'. 'As the union which organises film crew throughout Ireland, Siptu wishes to discuss with producers, government agencies and others in the artistic sector how best we can protect our world renowned industry from what will hopefully just be a short term shock,' he said. Irish Equity president, Gerry O'Brien, said the industry is a global one and US productions need international markets and revenues to survive. 'This will affect the livelihoods of thousands of performers and crew across the globe and lead to a slowdown in production here,' he said.
Irish Independent
02-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Government urged to address social welfare payments for workers facing temporary lay-offs due to US tariffs
A joint letter from the leaders of Ibec and Ictu to Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary asks that he urgently enhance financial supports for employees facing temporary lay-offs or short-time working 'during this period of heightened economic uncertainty'. Ibec CEO Danny McCoy and general secretary of Ictu, Owen Reidy said the current system of support is not fit for purpose and needs to be reformed. They said the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme should be amended. The letter, which was copied to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke and Higher Education Minister James Lawless last week, said the new benefit that links jobseeker payments to former wages excludes workers whose hours may be cut. It said their organisations strongly supported the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit (JPRB) and believed that it is an important enhancement to the social welfare system. 'The new scheme, however, specifically excludes training activity during the first 26 weeks of receipt and also stipulates that recipients must be fully unemployed, i.e. those put on short-time working cannot avail of the scheme,' it said. 'While such workers can avail of the existing short-time working scheme, the daily rate payment is almost half of that available under the new JPRB.' They said many workers would be better off financially if made fully unemployed so that they can receive the higher weekly JPRB payment rather than continuing to work reduced days with their employer. 'This anomaly needs to be urgently addressed,' they said. 'We are concerned that many of our members are experiencing demand shocks as a result of the US tariffs and the wider economic uncertainty and supply-chain disruption that they are causing.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more They said Ibec strongly believes that the State should seek to keep workers who face reduced working days or temporary lay-offs connected to their employers during this period of economic disruption. Workers should be encouraged to take up training and reskilling opportunities from the first day of unemployment, the business and worker representatives said. They recommended that the new JPRB scheme be amended to support those experiencing short-time working at a higher new scheme rate and that training be facilitated from day one of unemployment. 'Depending on demand, additional funding may also need to be allocated to support suitable training and upskilling initiatives for these workers,' the letter said. More than 2,500 people who lost their jobs have received up to €450 a week since the new pay-related jobseeker's benefit was rolled out from March 31. Those who have paid at least five years of PRSI are entitled to a weekly payment worth 60pc of their earnings, capped at €450. It is paid at this rate for the first 13 weeks out of work. A spokesperson for the Department of Social Protection said it provides support for workers on Short-Time Work under the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme. "This is an income support payment for those who have been temporarily placed on a shorter working week by their employer and which has worked effectively in response to challenges facing businesses," they said. "Pay-related Jobseeker's Benefit was introduced at the end of March. It applies to employees who become fully unemployed only."
