JSA/FAS conundrum

Dannyboy83

Hi,

I'm extremely confused by the DSW and would appreciate some help.

Long story short
A) My GF was denied JSA last year, as we were co-habiting and we were means tested
We ceased co-habiting earlier this year and she started a FAS course on October 1st 2010
C) She is being told she cannot receive any money from FAS because her JSA claim is being denied
D) We tried to reopen her JSA claim but it is being continutally denied - with no clear explanation why - the reason stated on the form was that her JSA claim is being denied because she is on a FAS course!!??

Can anyone shed light on what the problem is?
As far as we can see, she satisfies all JSA criteria.

We are desperately trying to get out of the cycle we are stuck in, but we are receiving absolutely zero assistance from the Department of Social Welfare.
She has not been in receipt of any social welfare payment or benefit of any type since September 2009.
I have tried to question the Social Welfare people myself, literally the answer the girl gave me was "I'm just a donkey doing the donkey work, it's the inspector who has the answers".

We've written a letter to the inspector but it's taking a very long time.


p.s. does anyone know if she can qualify for a medical card despite not receiving JSA? She has no income of any shape or form and I can no longer afford to pay Private Health Insurance for either of us.

Dannyboy83

To get Jobseeker's Allowance you must:

Be unemployed -Yes
Be over 18 and under 66 years of age - Yes
Be capable of work - Yes
Be available for and genuinely seeking work - YES!
Satisfy the means test - Yes, she has 0 income and we no longer co-habit
Meet the Habitual Residence Condition - She was out of Ireland from 1st June to 1st October 2010 to care for her mom who died of cancer, then promptly returned, we have plane tickets as proof - that is the only break in her stay here since 2005. This surely cannot be held against her, can it?
(Note: she signed the registry for all of 2009 despite not being able to claim any JSA, so we have proof she was resident in Ireland)

cee_jay

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm extremely confused by the DSW and would appreciate some help.

Long story short
A) My GF was denied JSA last year, as we were co-habiting and we were means tested
We ceased co-habiting earlier this year and she started a FAS course on October 1st 2010
C) She is being told she cannot receive any money from FAS because her JSA claim is being denied
D) We tried to reopen her JSA claim but it is being continutally denied - with no clear explanation why - the reason stated on the form was that her JSA claim is being denied because she is on a FAS course!!??

Can anyone shed light on what the problem is?
As far as we can see, she satisfies all JSA criteria.

We are desperately trying to get out of the cycle we are stuck in, but we are receiving absolutely zero assistance from the Department of Social Welfare.
She has not been in receipt of any social welfare payment or benefit of any type since September 2009.
I have tried to question the Social Welfare people myself, literally the answer the girl gave me was "I'm just a donkey doing the donkey work, it's the inspector who has the answers".

We've written a letter to the inspector but it's taking a very long time.


p.s. does anyone know if she can qualify for a medical card despite not receiving JSA? She has no income of any shape or form and I can no longer afford to pay Private Health Insurance for either of us.

If she is currently on a FAS course she cannot sign for JSA - she is seen as not being available for and looking for full time work.
You don't get a payment from FAS if you do not have an entitlement to JSA.
You say there is no clear explanation why the claim is being denied - if a claim is being denied a disallowance must be given in writing - what exactly does this say?

Dannyboy83

Thanks for your reply Car0l!

cAr0l wrote: »

If she is currently on a FAS course she cannot sign for JSA - she is seen as not being available for and looking for full time work.

When she wasn't on the FAS course, they denied her JSA and told her she could get money by doing a FAS course.

The whole reason for the FAS course is because there are simply no jobs available; e.g. 6000 people applied for 100 jobs in the new M&S shopping centre.


Does she need to quit the FAS course and reapply for JSA then???

(I genuinely believe the people working in the DSW do not actually understand their own rules!)

You don't get a payment from FAS if you do not have an entitlement to JSA.
You say there is no clear explanation why the claim is being denied - if a claim is being denied a disallowance must be given in writing - what exactly does this say?

It literally said "denied as she is on a fas course".

I don't understand this logic at all.

She is unable to secure a job and they are refusing to pay her JSA under any circumstances. The whole point of doing the Fas course was to try get some money and try get some skills to find a job.
If a job came up, she would jump at it. In the meanwhile, FAS is the next best option.

Can you see the catch 22 here?
We are genuinely exasperated at this stage, seems she has fallen through the cracks of the Social Welfare system and there is no exit point.

greendom

I think your wife fell foul of the rule changes re FAS courses which came in with the last budget I believe. Unless you're already in receipt of benefits you are not entitled to them on a FAS course. Previously you were entitled to €198 as a minimum

Balagan

Your girlfriend should go to her Community Welfare Officer at the local HSE office.

Dannyboy83

Hi,

I am absolutely furious right now.

My girlfriend was just at the social welfare office in Cork.......It turns out her claim was never even opened!!!:mad:

The officer present was confused/lost for words and said the letter of rejection sent didn't make any sense, nor was her claim even opened.

We want to write a formal letter of complaint to the ombudsman.

Can anyone advise on where to write?
Is there anyway to circumvent the Social Welfare officers and maybe ask a TD??
The people in the Department of Social Welfare don't seem to have a notion how to do their job!!

Dannyboy83

Balagan wrote: »

Your girlfriend should go to her Community Welfare Officer at the local HSE office.

She went to the Community Welfare officer today.

They are insisting that she is not entitled to a cent as she was not present in Ireland during 2009.

She was in fact present in Ireland, she was in Bandon throughout all of 2009 and continuted to sign.
We have proof that we were assessed for JSA and that she met with the social welfare inspector in Bandon.

What do we do now?

Should I write to the department of social welfare in Bandon and ask them to contact the Social welfare inspector in Cork?

Balagan

Would recommend you make complaint to the office she wishes to claim at now. Make it in writing and send by registered post. Cc it to Bandon office and to Customer Services in Sligo.

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Policy/CorporatePublications/HowWeWork/Documents/cust_charter.pdf

Keep a copy of all your documentation including letter of complaint and if matter is not sorted, then refer whole thing to the Ombudsman
http://www.ombudsman.gov.ie/en/MakeaComplaint/

Maybe first try to rule out any confusion re her name. The SW use the very last part of any lengthy or even hyphenated family name.

Also, your girlfriend should check that there is no issue or confusion re her PPS number.

Dannyboy83

Hello,
I thought I would just update this thread.

A letter was received stating it would take a while to go through the claim.
Nothing was ever received after this again.

Are we entitled to take any action now?

My partner has been back to work since the start of the year.
But I would really just love the opportunity to pay the people in the department of social welfare back some of the misery they put us through during these years!

Let me be clear, I don't care if we don't get any money, I would like to see some heads roll tho

Delancey

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

I would like to see some heads roll tho

That is 1 thing that will definitely not happen .

Dannyboy83

Why is this Delancey?

Do you mean we have insufficient evidence, or just the inertia forcefield in the Irish public services?

Delancey

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Why is this Delancey?

Do you mean we have insufficient evidence, or just the inertia forcefield in the Irish public services?

The latter applies.........we don't ' do ' accountability in Ireland :rolleyes: