Dole increase a ‘mistake’ – Troy

The government’s decision to increase the standard dole payment by €12 in the budget was a “slap in the face” to employers struggling to fill vacant positions.

That’s the view of Deputy Robert Troy, who says that at a time when the economy is close to full employment and many businesses are finding it difficult to recruit staff, increasing the Jobseekers Allowance was one of the few things in Budget 2025 he didn’t agree with.

“The one big thing in my mind that I felt was a mistake was giving the unemployed €12 a week extra. I think it was a slap in the face to people who work and to employers who can’t get people to work at the moment.

“Unemployment benefit is meant to be a stopgap, a safety net, not something that becomes a lifestyle for anyone,” said the local TD.

“We have full employment, yet there is a significant percentage of people who are 12 months or longer in receipt of unemployment benefit. At a time when there is full employment, they are opting to stay on unemployment benefit for whatever reason – it may not be the core payment; it may be auxiliary benefits, a medical card, staying on the social housing list, or housing support, such as a HAP payment.”

Deputy Troy added that he “firmly believes that there is a big difference between those on unemployment benefit and people on other social welfare payments such as disability allowance, carer’s allowance, or the old-age pension”.

“They should be on a higher social welfare payment, but there was no need to increase unemployment benefit. The increase to social welfare payments should have been targeted at people who need it most.”

A few days before Budget 2025 was finalised by the government, Deputy Troy emailed Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys with a number of suggestions, which he said “would provide meaningful support to some of the most vulnerable members of society”.

Deputy Troy urged Minister Humphreys to extend eligibility for the fuel and living allowance to carers, “recognising the vital and full-time role they play”. He also proposed that her department “continue expanding the income disregards to allow carers to maintain more of their income without losing benefits”.

For pensioners, he suggested a “substantial increase for single pensioners to reflect the greater financial burdens they face in comparison to couples”, while for people in receipt of disability and invalidity benefits, he said that “it is important to introduce more flexible arrangements, such as the ability to transition to a partial incapacity scheme”.

“That would support those who are able to work part-time while managing their disabilities, allowing them to contribute meaningfully to society without losing essential benefits.”

When it comes to the Jobseekers Allowance, he recommended that the department move away from the current system, which calculates eligibility based on days worked, and instead adopt a model that considers hours worked.

“The present system can disincentivise people from taking up a few hours of work a day, which could help them maintain a connection to the workforce while seeking full-time employment.”

He also said that “in a time of full employment, it is critical that unemployment benefits do not inadvertently discourage people from returning to the workforce”.