Unemployed will have to sign contract to get dole payment

UNEMPLOYED people will have to sign a “contract” before they can get their dole payments in a radical shake-up of the social welfare system.

It is the first time that people seeking jobseekers payments will have to undergo such a process.

Previously it was a matter of supplying basic personal details such as name, age and PPS number to get a payment.

Under the “social contract”, they will have to co-operate with social welfare staff to develop a “Personal Progression Plan” to help them secure training or employment.

They will also have to attend all scheduled meetings and provide all the requested information about their job history and education level.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton’s department said that people who fail to live up to their commitments under the contract will have their payments reduced and ultimately cut off.

The new system for helping unemployed people is designed to improve the training and job opportunities available to them. Rather than being left to drift into long term unemployment, they will be expected under their contract to engage with social welfare staff to improve their chances of getting a job.

The new system, known as Intreo, is in place in just four of the state’s social welfare offices at the moment – Sligo town, Parnell Street in Dublin, the Square in Tallaght and Arklow in Wicklow.

It is due to be rolled out in all social welfare offices by 2014.

via Unemployed will have to sign contract to get dole payment – National News – Independent.ie.

via Unemployed will have to sign contract to get dole payment – National News – Independent.ie.

Editorial comment

Maybe this is just another way  to message the figures .

It also raises the question of how legal is a one sided contract?

Parents get vote to take schools out of Church control –

PARENTS will start voting within weeks on whether they want to hand over a Catholic primary school in their area to another patron body.

In a ground-breaking move, the Department of Education will seek the views of parents in five areas on the demand for a change in patronage, and their preference for who should run the schools.

The Irish Independent has learned that three of the five areas to be surveyed are Trim, Co Meath; Tramore, Co Waterford; and Arklow, Co Wicklow.

The fourth and fifth will be in Dublin and Co Mayo, although final decisions have yet to be made on the particular areas.

Change

The surveys of five areas is the first step in the process and will be followed in November with similar plebiscites in 39 other towns or suburbs identified as potentially ripe for change.

The historic move is aimed at reducing the control of the Catholic Church in primary education and offering parents greater choice to reflect the cultural and religious mix in Irish society generally.

via Parents get vote to take schools out of Church control – Latest News, Education – Independent.ie.

via Parents get vote to take schools out of Church control – Latest News, Education – Independent.ie.