People In Kildare Who Lose Their Jobs Set For Higher Rates Of Social Welfare Under New Plans

Monday, 5 December 2022 15:37

By Caoimhe Harney

A worker with five or more years of PRSI contributions will be entitled to 60% of their gross weekly salary

High-earning workers in Kildare who lose their jobs would be entitled to social welfare at more than twice the normal rate under proposals to radically overhaul the jobseeker payment.

Workers with a history of employment will qualify for welfare rates of up to €450 under the plans.

Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys will bring a memo to Cabinet tomorrow setting out plans to introduce unemployment benefit payments that will be directly linked to a worker’s pays before they became unemployed.

Under the new plans for the welfare system, a worker with five or more years of PRSI contributions will be entitled to 60% of their gross weekly salary capped at €450 per week.

A worker with between two and five years’ worth of PRSI contributions will be entitled to 50% of their gross weekly salary or up to €300 per week.

An employee will need to have made PRSI contributions in six of the 12 months before they became unemployed to avail of the higher rates of jobseeker payments.

Those with less than two years of PRSI contributions will receive the current rate of €208 per week. However, this is set to rise to €220 a week in January following a major increase in welfare rates in September’s Budget.

However, under the new plan, higher rates would only be paid for six months, in whch case the person wwould receive the regular jobseeker payment rate.

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