Unemployed and pregnant, HELP!!

lilypad67

Hi all, I recently (yesterday) found out that I'm 5 weeks pregnant. I'm 22, single and unemployed (on jobseekers benefit) I also moved back to the family home when I lost my job as I could not afford my rent. The father is not able to give much support with regards to maintenance.
Basically I'm looking for any info that anyone can give me about social welfare or HSE payments that I'm entitled to. For example, Does my Jobseekers benefit increase after I have the baby or will I receive lone parents allowance, Am I entitled to rent allowance, am I entitled to a medical card ect.
Also I've seen on a few message boards like this and seen that some people are given a payment for a buggy, cot, clothes allowance. Am I entitled to these or do they even exist? A friend of mine has also assured me that once I go to the doctor and am told I'm pregnant all my medical costs where the baby is concerned ie. Gp visits, scans ect. are free, Is this true?

Any response to this is greatly appreciated be it from someone in a similar situation or just someone in the know.
Thanks all.

Nevyn

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/pregnancy_and_social_welfare_payments.html

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth_family_relationships/before_your_baby_is_born/

Nozebleed

OP have you any desire to contact the father?


Im not entirely sure why the moderator has removed my post but i will ask again..incase it was a mistake.

Nevyn

I don't see what your question has to do with answering the OPs questions other then being nosy.

Kristopherus

It has everything to do with what she might be entitled to. All state agencies are now asking applicants in the same position as the OP, what support is the father giving/ going to give as the State now considers that it would not be justifiable paying out without having the full picture.

Nevyn

Men are not expected to pay maintenance to wards the mother to be of their child.
She is not living with him so officially he does not come into her applying for assistance in any way shape or form.

Nozebleed

surely its the responsiblity of the mother and father and not the state to take care of the child. encouraging the OP to sponge off the state is irresponsible..as a moderator you should know better . as she said..she only found out yesterday that she was pregnant..and assumes she's better off on state welfare without the father's help..to me it looks as though she's on this forum asking others how to go about getting as much as she can from the system.

Kristopherus

Thaedydal wrote: »

Men are not expected to pay maintenance to wards the mother to be of their child.
She is not living with him so officially he does not come into her applying for assistance in any way shape or form.

Where did you get that idea? When she applies for Single Parent Allowance, Social Welfare will ask her to " prove" that the father is not contributing. Same goes for the CWO when she applies for buggy, pram, etc.

nevaeh-2die-4

Nozebleed wrote: »

surely its the responsiblity of the mother and father and not the state to take care of the child. encouraging the OP to sponge off the state is irresponsible..as a moderator you should know better . as she said..she only found out yesterday that she was pregnant..and assumes she's better off on state welfare without the father's help..to me it looks as though she's on this forum asking others how to go about getting as much as she can from the system.

excellent point , well said,

don’t expect it to last long , they don’t like an opinion against the grain here.

I hate the way people think cause they get pregnant the we should hand them everything .

i

Nozebleed

im not trying to upset the original poster. I just think she should talk with the father and both families to see what can be done..then get the help you entitled to. in my opinion the father is the most important factor here regardless if he has money or not. no offence intended OP.

Cat Melodeon

OP you should ring your local SW office and make an appointment to speak with someone there. They will go through all of your rights with you and possibly refer you on to the Community Welfare Officer too.

There is also an organisation called Treoir that help unmarried parents:
http://www.treoir.ie/

Nevyn

The system is there to help women who become pregnant so that they can contiune thier pregnancy, it is a saftey net.

What she is and is not entitled to claim is not for anyone here to judge but for the staff who administer the payments.

IF you don't agree with the system which is in place then complain to your T.D.s

Under the 1970 Health Act women are entitled to free maternity care, based on residency. Non-EU Nationals must contact their local Health Office to determine their eligibility for free maternity care.

MagicMarker

Hey OP, seeing as you only found out yesterday I'd say your head is spinning. I don't really know the answer to your question but I just thought I'd highlight that there are other options. You're 22, unemployed and probably now twice as unlikely to get a job as anyone else. Just because you're capable of bringing a life into the world doesn't mean you have to or that it's the best thing to do. Well, the option is there anyway.

cee_jay

Lads this is NOT Personal Issues. The OP is asking for advice on what she is entitled to in relation to Social Welfare. She is not asking for advice on what path to take with the pregnancy or about the father of the child. Read the forum charter - next person to drag this thread off topic will receive a weeks holiday from the forum.

cee_jay

lilypad67 wrote: »

Hi all, I recently (yesterday) found out that I'm 5 weeks pregnant. I'm 22, single and unemployed (on jobseekers benefit) I also moved back to the family home when I lost my job as I could not afford my rent. The father is not able to give much support with regards to maintenance.
Basically I'm looking for any info that anyone can give me about social welfare or HSE payments that I'm entitled to. For example, Does my Jobseekers benefit increase after I have the baby or will I receive lone parents allowance, Am I entitled to rent allowance, am I entitled to a medical card ect.
Also I've seen on a few message boards like this and seen that some people are given a payment for a buggy, cot, clothes allowance. Am I entitled to these or do they even exist? A friend of mine has also assured me that once I go to the doctor and am told I'm pregnant all my medical costs where the baby is concerned ie. Gp visits, scans ect. are free, Is this true?

Any response to this is greatly appreciated be it from someone in a similar situation or just someone in the know.
Thanks all.

Hi lily, congratulations on the pregnancy.
If you are still entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit when you have your baby, and you are a single parent, you can claim one parent family payment, and receive have rate Jobseeker's Benefit with it. The current rate for One Parent Family is 196 + 29.80 for a child, and you receive half your current weekly rate of Jobseekers Benefit with this - so if you are currently receiving 196 on JSB, you will get 98.00.
Bare in mind that is at this years rates - nobody knows yet what is going to happen in the budget. Also your benefit may have expired by then depending on when you have been claiming since. You cannot claim Jobseeker's Allowance with One Parent Family. But you can claim Jobseeker's Allowance when pregnant.
You need to contact your Community Welfare Officer regarding rent allowance - you need to apply for social housing and be assessed as having a housing need to receive this. You contact them also for help with cots etc. That payment is an emergency needs payment.

Nozebleed

Can you explain to me how she is a single parent?

cAr0l wrote: »

Hi lily, congratulations on the pregnancy.
If you are still entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit when you have your baby, and you are a single parent, you can claim one parent family payment, and receive have rate Jobseeker's Benefit with it. The current rate for One Parent Family is 196 + 29.80 for a child, and you receive half your current weekly rate of Jobseekers Benefit with this - so if you are currently receiving 196 on JSB, you will get 98.00.
Bare in mind that is at this years rates - nobody knows yet what is going to happen in the budget. Also your benefit may have expired by then depending on when you have been claiming since. You cannot claim Jobseeker's Allowance with One Parent Family. But you can claim Jobseeker's Allowance when pregnant.
You need to contact your Community Welfare Officer regarding rent allowance - you need to apply for social housing and be assessed as having a housing need to receive this. You contact them also for help with cots etc. That payment is an emergency needs payment.

cee_jay

lilypad67 wrote: »

I'm 22, single and unemployed (on jobseekers benefit) I also moved back to the family home when I lost my job as I could not afford my rent. The father is not able to give much support with regards to maintenance.
Basically I'm looking for any info that anyone can give me about social welfare or HSE payments that I'm entitled to. For example, Does my Jobseekers benefit increase after I have the baby or will I receive lone parents allowance, Am I entitled to rent allowance, am I entitled to a medical card ect.

Read the opening post?

Kristopherus

cAr0l wrote: »

Lads this is NOT Personal Issues. The OP is asking for advice on what she is entitled to in relation to Social Welfare. She is not asking for advice on what path to take with the pregnancy or about the father of the child. Read the forum charter - next person to drag this thread off topic will receive a weeks holiday from the forum.

It was a moderator who instigated the personal issues. There are two ways to look at the opening post (a) full of pity/sympathy and offers of help and (b) this poster is looking for advice on how to skive off the state. Whether people agree or not with either way, she has some entitlements, i.e Medical Card which will give her free access to a GP, who in turn will point her in the direction of other health proffessionals she may need. She can go to her local CWO, who, in addition to asking the hard questions, will also advise her regarding financial entitlements she may have. She is only 22, so I would expect she may not be fully aware of the services that would be available to her - what 22 year-old would !

Delancey

I have noticed a disturbing trend of late on threads like these - possibly vulnerable people are attacked and made feel like they are ' spongers '.
I realise this country is banjaxed but blame the bankers and politicians for that , attacking individual people in difficult circumstances is something a coward would do.

lilypad67

I feel I really need to clarify that I'm not trying to "sponge" off the tax payers, I've been working since I was 16 I understand how crippling taxes can be. I've been unemployed since July (i was let go not fired), but I didn't apply for jobseekers benefit until September. I got by on holiday pay that I was owed because I didn't want to apply for "the dole" when I didn't have to. I also moved back home rather than apply for rent allowance so I'm anything but a "sponger". I'm only asking these questions out of necessity. IF there were jobs out there I assure you I'd be working but there aren't.
When I have my child I've no problem getting a job (if I can find one), I'm sure one of the people calling me a "sponger" will come around and babysit for free while I go off to work because we all know how expensive creches and childminders can be.
With regards to the father, he already has a child with another girl, now he pays her 30 euros a week so I'm assuming I'll get the same, that'll buy umm nappies? I wanted to know if I was entitled to lone parents because I'll be living on my own.
I'd really appreciate any more helpful, mind I said helpful, advice.

angelfire9

hi OP
To answer your questions
Yes Jobseekers Benefit will increase when the baby comes the amount is around €30 a week, note though that if your stamps run out and you go onto Jobseeker's Allowance that is means tested if you end up getting €30 a week in maintenance this may be assessed as means and you may not get the benefit of the dependent payment (i.e. you may only get the €196 from DSCFA)

While on jobseeker's Benefit you can apply for One Parent Family Payment
You can also apply for the medical card but this is a means tested payment and may take into consideration the income your parents have as well if you are living at home

Your community welfare officer (CWO) at your local HSE clinic can give you a form for Supplementary Welfare Allowance (or you can download it) you can use this to apply for a Pregnancy related payment of €160 for baby gear (cots/buggies etc etc) when you are closer to your due date
AFAIK this is a one off payment but your CWO will know for sure

If you are an EU national or a citizen of one of those EAA (or whatever they are called) countries you are entitled to free GP visits & antenatal care for the duration of your pregnancy and 6 weeks after under the mother and baby scheme

You will also obviously be entitled to Child Benefit after the babs is born

If you return to work after you have the baby and are on low income you may be entitled to Family Income Supplement and if you move out of home you should be entitled to Rent Allowance as well both via the HSE and your CWO as far as I know

Couple of Links for you:

Child Benefit:
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/BirthChildrenAndFamilies/ChildRelatedPayments/Pages/cb.aspx

Supplementary Welfare Allowance:
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/swa.aspx

Medical Cards:
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Find_a_Service/entitlements/medical_cards/

Mother & Baby Scheme:
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Find_a_Service/maternity/

One Parent Family Payment:
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/BirthChildrenAndFamilies/OneParentFamilies/Pages/opfp.aspx

Final note,
Congrats on your pregnancy you probably feel like your whole world has turned upside down, there is a great section on boards as regards parenting which you should check out, if you can put up with the occassional moan about morning sickness, heartburn, sleepness nights etc etc you can get loads of info on parenting topics over there!
You have 30+ weeks to get yourself sorted anyway!

Good luck!

cee_jay

Kristopherus banned for a week.

3roken

I'm just back from my community welfare officer. He asked me why i hadnt applied for maintainance (wahhhh... im ment to do that BEFORE the baby is born????) told me that there was nothing available before the baby is born, but you can get money for a buggy and bottles when the baby is born and cot at 12 weeks.

Then I told him that the social worker had told me to go to him (it pays to check in with the medical social worker when you have your first hospital appointment.... ask to see them and make sure you get their name!) and he told me that i could get a clothing grant for maternity clothes, and that i may as well apply for the cot and buggy now!

He said i'd hear back in a week so i'll let you know.

There doesnt really seem to be any set amount. I think it varies from region to region and it just depends on who your cwo is and how well you can fight your corner, so yeah, ask the social worker and make sure you go in to your cwo knowing what help is available!

Good luck with the pregnancy! Your probably feeling completely overwhelmed right now, but trust me, it does get easier!

lilypad67

Anglefire and 3roken, thanks so much, really helpful.

3roken

so, in the end i got a cheque for €200 for clothing ... nothing for buggy or cot.

MagicMarker

3roken wrote: »

so, in the end i got a cheque for €200 for clothing ... nothing for buggy or cot.

Sounds fine to me.

Richard Dower

delancey42 wrote: »

I have noticed a disturbing trend of late on threads like these - possibly vulnerable people are attacked and made feel like they are ' spongers '.
I realise this country is banjaxed but blame the bankers and politicians for that , attacking individual people in difficult circumstances is something a coward would do.

Well said!...some utterly SHAMEFUL responses to the OP,

Balagan

3roken wrote: »

so, in the end i got a cheque for €200 for clothing ... nothing for buggy or cot.

A lot of people, especially in these difficult times for almost everybody, take advantage of sites like jumbletown http://www.jumbletown.ie/forums/index.php to get cots, buggies, sterilisers etc., for free or just the expense of going to collect them. Posters here may know of other sites. Often, you can get items at second hand shops which are hardly used. You'd need to check out safety etc., of the items and for the cot it would be best to get a new mattress, but, all in all, it is possible to get items for free, very little, or a fraction of the cost of new items. Good luck with everything!

3roken

yeah... i made do with jogging bottoms and mens hoodys instead of buying maternity clothes and then used the clothing grant to buy baby bits. Actually managed to stretch it out pretty well.... i got cot in ikea (in england... have relatives over there) for £69, got buggy and car seat on sale in smyths for €115... and my sister found me a moses basket in a charity shop for £2.50!!!

i've been buying bits like clothes and bedding since my first scan, so think i have pretty well everyting now!

It is possible if you plan ahead and shop around a bit! Just dont leave everything until the last minute!