THE Minister for Social Protection has made a commitment to improving access to job seekers entitlements for the former self employed, following a request from a local TD.Limerick Deputy Kieran O’Donnell, met with Minister Joan Burton on the subject, in light of the lack of benefits available to those who are no longer running their own businesses, many of whom are forced to turn to charity.
The Limerick Post recently reported on the plight of a man whose business closed in May, and who has been forced to turn to charity as he was unable to get any benefits from the State.
In light of the report, this newspaper was subsequently contacted by a number of other former self employed individuals who were subjected to the same fate.
“I know exactly how that man feels, as I was in the same situation a couple of years ago,” one woman told this reporter.
“We had to sell almost everything we owned at car boot sales just to survive from week to week.
“We couldn’t get a penny from the State, which was crazy, as we had been creating employment in the economy when we were in business”.
The woman has since set up in business once more, after receiving advice from a financial advisor.
Deputy O’Donnell spoke to Minister Burton on the topic last week.
“The minister has promised that this is a priority for her and she is committed to improving the process involved in Job Seeker’s Allowance assessments.
“She previously set up an advisory group on the topic, who are due to report back to her prior to the budget.
“She is in agreement that the issue needs to be looked at, with a view to finding ways to make the former self employed eligible to apply for benefits”.
There is currently an average eight week wait for those who apply for Job Seekers Allowance, and if the application is denied, an appeal takes a further 14 months to process.
“They could get nothing for a year and a half,” added Deputy O’Donnell.
“It also takes time for employers to get all their documents together to make the application, and it could be costly to get them in order.
“There needs to be a speeding up of the process and a change in the criteria used to assess applications.
“This problem is mainly effecting small to medium enterprises, who are needed to create jobs in the economy”
