Aountú has said it is ‘wrong and shocking’ that some 6,500 people have been on Jobseeker’s Allowance for a decade or more.
The figures, which were released to the party by the Department of Social Protection, suggest the cohort has cost taxpayers around €800 million.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said that he believes the State should provide a “safety net” but that a decade on Jobseeker’s Allowance is “absolutely ridiculous”.
“The whole idea of Jobseeker’s Allowance is that you're constantly in the market to take on a job,” he said.
“Each individual is supposed to have a personal progression plan, basically, which includes targeted job searches, education or training that they need.
“And the idea that anybody throughout all of that could be on Jobseekers Allowance for that period of time is quite shocking.”
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín. The Meath West TD continued that an even greater number of people have spent more than five years on Jobseeker’s Allowance.
“If you dig down to the figures, 30,000 people have spent more than five years straight on Jobseekers, which adds up to nearly €1.9 billion of a cost as well,” he said.
“There's a major problem here.”
Deputy Tóibín said that anyone on Jobseeker’s Allowance is presumably able to work, which is why they are not entitled to the Disability Allowance.
“So, the cohort of people within this block are physically healthy, they're in the market, supposedly, for work and yet they've gone 10 years straight without work,” he said.
“Now, that is wrong and it is shocking that it hasn't actually been brought to the attention of the public or the Government before.”
The Aontú leader said the Government should introduce some form of sanction for those who do not seek or accept work while on JobSeeker's Allowance.
“I think there has to be a tapering off after a period of time of the amount of money that's received through JobSeeker's Allowance so that these individuals get back to work,” he argued.
Main image: A man with €5 in his wallet. Picture by: Alamy.com.
