Social Welfare Increase On The Way

People who lose their jobs will be entitled to claim a new social welfare payment from March 31st.

The new payments will come into effect following a year of preparations.

The amount a person will be entitled to will be based around their previous employment and linked directly to their earnings.

Susanne Rogers, Research and Policy Analyst with Social Justice Ireland, says it's a welcome move:

"The bottom line is that it means if you do lose your job once this payment comes into effect the likelihood is that you would get a much higher rate of payment than the current flat rate of 244 Euro so that's really - that's good news,  putting money back into pockets of people when they needed is really, really good news"

According to gov.ie, three main PRSI contribution conditions must be met to qualify for Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit. These are:

• You must have paid at least 104 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A, H or P.
• You must have paid at least 4 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A or H in the 10 weeks prior to making your application.
• You must have paid at least 26 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A or H in the 52 weeks prior to your first day of unemployment.

Different conditions will apply if you were receiving another benefit payment when you lost your job, such as Maternity Benefit or Illness Benefit.

There are a several different tiers of payment :

• the weekly rate of payment if you have at least 5 years paid PRSI contributions will be set at 60% of previous earnings, up to a maximum of €450 for the first 3 months
• after that, the rate will be set at 55% of earnings. This will be paid up to a maximum of €375 for the following 3 months
• a further 3 months will be paid at the rate of 50%, up to a maximum €300 payment
• for people who have between 2 and 5 years paid contributions, the rate will be set at 50% of previous earnings. This will be paid up to a maximum for €300 per week for 6 month’s duration
• the minimum rate of payment will be €125

Details on how to apply will be released soon. If you are currently unemployed, you can apply for the existing Jobseeker's Benefit scheme.

If you are already receiving Jobseeker's Benefit when the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit begins, you will remain on that payment until your entitlement ends or until you return to work.