A GOVERNMENT move to address an anomaly in the welfare system has resulted in a reduction of €44 a week in benefits for some claimants, according to the Labour Party.
Its social and family affairs spokeswoman Róisín Shortall said new thresholds meant a drop in jobseeker and illness benefits of up to €72 a week “in the worse case” for some low-paid workers.
“It’s one thing to address an anomaly, it’s quite another to use it as an excuse to target cutbacks at low-paid workers,” she said. However, Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin told The Irish Times she wanted to correct a situation where part-time or low-paid workers could claim more on benefits than in paid employments.
“It’s not to cut back on low-paid workers, it’s to establish that working should be a greater incentive than signing on the live register.
“You can’t have a situation where somebody ends up better off on welfare than in the workforce.”
