No income, no savings, but refused welfare

P

Protocol

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Scenario:

Person worked for 10 years approx, laid off in early 2011
Received JSB for 9-12 months
Went back to college - various courses
(1) short FAS course
(2) Springboard course (for unemployed) in UCD
(3) now in UCD doing a Diploma/Masters, started in Sep 2012

Couldn't get JSA as in college - fair enough

Applied for student grant and also BTEA - refused as had 200k in savings from redundancy / SSIA / general savings

Buys a house in 2014, all savings used up

Now has no income and very little cash

College course due to finish in May 2014

Applied to the CWO for anything, e.g. SWA - refused


I'm just curious does anybody have any advice?

When college course is over, they can apply for JSA, okay.

But for 3-4 months, they will be surviving off tiny amount of cash....

I would have thought that SWA would be paid, but it was refused.
 
Buys a house in 2014, all savings used up
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Surely you can't see this decision as being a reasonable one! While I'm not into finger pointing in general I can't understand the logic behind this decision.
 
44brendan said:
Surely you can't see this decision as being a reasonable one! While I'm not into finger pointing in general I can't understand the logic behind this decision.
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You are not alone there. I am guessing the person concerned assumed that there would be no issue getting a SW payment afterwards, once the savings were gone.
 
To reply:

Person has been looking for a house for several years, on and off, at a stage where wanted to buy.

Person did not expect to receive welfare once cash turned into house.

I did - I expected that they would qualify for something, anything, maybe SWA..............

Yes, has talked to friends, etc. about possible lodgers, that will very likely happen.

I just (naively) presumed that if:
  • you have no income and no cash savings
  • had paid tax/PRSI for 10 years
  • was making a genuine effort to re-train

then you might qualify for some sort of welfare. But clearly not.

Thanks for all the advice.
 
He seems to have put very little planning or thought into this. You cant get a grant or BTEA for a Masters.

Has he looked for a part time job, that's how most post grad students support themselves.
 
He didn't get BTEA because of this requirement:

Qualifying period

For second level courses you must have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment (see above) for at least 3 months (78 days of unemployment*). You must be getting the qualifying paymentimmediately before you start the course.
For third level courses you must have been getting a qualifying social welfare payment (see above) for 9 months (234 days of unemployment*). You must be getting the qualifying payment immediately before you start the course.


His JSB has ran out a good while before the UCD course started in Sep 2012.
 
Protocol said:
It's a postgrad that is a H Dip/ Masters, i.e. there are two exit routes with two awards, at different levels.

The other students applied for BTE and put it down as a Higher Diploma, so they got the BTEA.
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they should only have been eligible for it for the HDip element. Im shocked the college complied with this tbh.

Other than a part time job, which he may not want to get so near his finals, he could try the Student Assistance fund in the college.
 
Full-time students are one of the categories of persons excluded from claiming SWA, regardless of their circumstances.
 
It's just a bit depressing.

We know plenty of long-term unemployed who seem to make no effort to find work.

They do not seem to be challenged by the DSP, even though the troika insist that the DSP address this issue.

They also get rent supplement.

And yet a "more deserving" person gets nothing (okay, 9-12 months JSB).

Life is unfair.
 
AND a FAS course, and a Springboard course, and his fees, and most likely JSA when he finishes his course, as he has conveniently exhausted his means.

Really, the sense of entitlement, and the double standards, how on earth is this person 'more deserving', sounds workshy to me?
 
Protocol said:
It's just a bit depressing.

We know plenty of long-term unemployed who seem to make no effort to find work.

They do not seem to be challenged by the DSP, even though the troika insist that the DSP address this issue.

They also get rent supplement.

And yet a "more deserving" person gets nothing (okay, 9-12 months JSB).

Life is unfair.
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Why is he more deserving? He spent €200,000 on a house and exhausted all his own savings....did he not check all this out before he did that?
 
Protocol said:
It's just a bit depressing.

We know plenty of long-term unemployed who seem to make no effort to find work.

They do not seem to be challenged by the DSP, even though the troika insist that the DSP address this issue.

They also get rent supplement.

And yet a "more deserving" person gets nothing (okay, 9-12 months JSB).

Life is unfair.
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Well woe is me, you think they are more deserving than those the long term unemployed. All this person has to do is survive for 3 to 4 months. And there are many options for this person, rent a room, they can rent all the rooms in the house out for the next 4 months and get in 10K, owner to sleep on the sofa, pack the house with students. Get a job in McD, borrow enough for 4 months, based on an asset of 200K. Leave the house completely and rent it out and go sleep on a friends or relatives sofa etc.
 
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