For more than 300 former employees of C&D Foods, a period of sharp readjustment lies ahead. They will join 1,827 others already on unemployment benefit or assistance in Co Longford.
For a single person, weekly income will drop to €165.80. For a married couple with a child, it will be €292.60, or with two children €309. After 15 months, "unemployment benefit" (based on PRSI contributions) migrates to "unemployment assistance", which is means-tested.
Mortgage and rent supplements up to a maximum of €190 per week are also available (a couple with no dependants, say, could claim €120), although, under a new policy, the local authority will have to intervene after 18 months.
The Department of Social and Family Affairs, which has moved swiftly to keep workers informed, will ensure that "anything people are entitled to, they will get", according to a spokesman. This will include people who had just started in their jobs, who will be entitled to means-tested assistance. Foreign nationals, "if they have been in employment and lost their job through no fault of their own", will qualify for supplementary welfare.