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The Irish Sun

Major €244 social welfare CUT in blow for more than 3k Irish people as ‘final step' move over key rule warning

OVER 3,000 people across Ireland have had their social welfare payments reduced this year amid a warning that they can be "disqualified from their payment for up to nine weeks". Official figures revealed that welfare cuts for those out-of-work have increased more than 58 per cent compared to the same period last year. Advertisement 2 Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary issued the cut warning Credit: Getty Images The benefits were slashed due to a lack of engagement with the Government's Intreo Employment Services. Official figures provided in response to a parliamentary question by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy show that 3,008 unemployed individuals had their However, Social Protection Minister He said: "This reflects the concept of 'rights and responsibilities' whereby people who are unemployed have the right to an income support from the State and a right to be supported in their efforts to secure employment, but also have a responsibility to seek employment and to engage with the employment services offered by the State. Advertisement Read more in Money "Customers who do not engage with the Intreo Employment Service or who fail to participate in appropriate employment interventions can have their jobseeker's payment reduced and subsequently be disqualified from their payment for up to nine weeks. "They may also have their entitlement to a Jobseekers payment reviewed based on a failure to genuinely seek work. "The weekly reduced rates applied for Jobseeker's Allowance and Jobseeker's Benefit increased from €44 to €90 from January 2025 and is set at 20 per cent for customers in receipt of the recently introduced Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit." Intreo Employment Services supports jobseekers to find work. Advertisement Most read in Money Supports on offer include further education, training, upskilling and work placements as well as programmes such as Community Employment and TUS. Reduced rates were introduced in 2011 as a measure to encourage jobseekers to engage proactively with efforts to find a pathway to employment. Major warning over emergency social welfare scam texts as thousands could be targeted Minister Calleary stressed that a reduced rate is a "final step" in a process to encourage a jobseeker to avail of employment supports on offer. And once a jobseeker resumes this engagement the reduced Advertisement In 2024, 10,232 people had their social welfare payments reduced over the lack of engagement to find employment compared to 5,235 in 2023. This year, 760 people were impacted in January, followed by 1,360 in February and 888 in March. RATE REDUCTION RISK Minister Calleary added: "It is possible that a person may have multiple reduced rates applied throughout the course of the year." Jobseeker's Allowance is a payment to people who are unemployed. Advertisement You can apply for Jobseekers Allowance, if you have been on Jobseekers Benefit and your payment has ended or if you are only entitled to a reduced rate of JB and would be better off on JA. The maximum rate a person on Jobseeker's Allowance or Jobseeker's Benefit can receive is €244 on a personal rate. This number can increase based on the amount of adult dependents and dependent children there are in the household. 2 Welfare benefits can be slashed due to a lack of engagement with the employment services Credit: Getty Images - Getty Advertisement