Jobseekers allowance reduced for those under 25

Jobseeker’s Allowance – Extend the application of the €100 rate of Jobseeker's Allowance and SWA to persons without children who reach the age of 22, 23 and 24 and extend the application of the €144 rate of Jobseeker's Allowance and SWA to persons without
children who reach the age of 25, from January 2014. (The Back to Education maximum rate for 25 year olds will be reduced to €160 per week for relevant new entrants).

Jobseekers Allowance rates from Jan 2014

Those under 25 who engage in training or other activation measures will receive €160.

SarahMc said:

Those under 25 who engage in training or other activation measures will receive €160.

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That is a good incentive to get young people motivated into doing some training course. The powers that be will have to get cracking and start putting lots of those infamous FAS courses within reach of applicants.

That's what the Youth Guarantee is all about. A guarantee of a training course / quality internship or other activation measure within 4 months of being out of work or education, so in theorey a young person would only be on the reduced rate for 4 months. €14m put aside for this, and a lot more coming from Europe next year.

Young people will also qualify for jobsplus after 6 months rather than 1 year, which should be a large incentive for employers to take on a young unemployed person.

I must say that this struck me as a good measure.

A fair criticism is that there are no jobs anyway, so it's wrong to portray young people as becoming dependent on welfare as of choice.

If they can get more through training, then that criticism doesn't stand.

I heard someone else saying that it would hit early school leavers who find it hard to get jobs. But surely this will give them an incentive to return to education now that welfare is cut.

Brendan

The early school leaver argument doesn't stand up. Whilst traditional schooling/Leaving Cert doesnt suit some young people, under 18s can participate in YouthReach, Community Training Centres or Local Training Initiatives and work towards a Fetac 3, 4 or 5 award. Having people out in the workforce with a Junior Cert or less is not good for anyone.

The key here is good training. Our track record in this country with quality training/apprenticeships is poor...FAS existed more to keep the incumbents in work rather than provide serious training.

Why we don't copy the best parts of the German model of apprenticeships and training, and headhunt a dozen or so of their top guys to come over here and implement the system is unfathomable to me. It would be a win win for everyone and a bit of real foresight from the Govt

Brendan Burgess said:

I must say that this struck me as a good measure.

A fair criticism is that there are no jobs anyway, so it's wrong to portray young people as becoming dependent on welfare as of choice.

If they can get more through training, then that criticism doesn't stand.

I heard someone else saying that it would hit early school leavers who find it hard to get jobs. But surely this will give them an incentive to return to education now that welfare is cut.

Brendan

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It is a good measure and it is long overdue. I am sure there hundreds if not thousands of young unemployed people up and down the country falling out of bed at 2 and 3pm in the afternoons bored out of their heads and driving their parents crazy in the process. Then we have all the depression and suicides that springs from their hopeless situations. They are the young victims of the downturn in the economy and have got off to a very bad start. Everything possible should be done to get them into good educational /training courses and the extra €60 a week they will receive for doing so will be a good incentive for them.

In the UK young people under 24 only get £55 a week on the dole, they do get full housing benefit and a lot of help is provided in the job centres with training etc. They are also provided with funds to buy clothes and helped with travel cost for interviews.

Just to point out that the rates Brendan quoted above are the maximum rates of payment. If a young person (under 25) is living at home with a working parent/working parents, the jobseeker payment is also means-tested on the parental income.