Time limit for dole?

syklops

robinph wrote: »

I'd have thought so as well...then I tried it.

Getting turned down for the lower paid jobs that you are perfectly prepared to do because they assume that you'll leave next week when something else comes along is not fun. Especially as there was nothing else coming along.

I remember ringing up a previous boss of mine because I saw his company were looking for analysts and I said "Would you consider me?" And he said some thing along the lines of "Don't be silly. You would be bored and leave within three months" and i was saying "no I wont. I'll make a commitment to stay" and he kept saying that i would leave when i got bored, or I would be head hunted. This was early 2009 at the start of the crisis. So I ended up leaving the country because there was nothing else.

I understand his point of view, and if someone had come along offering me great money I probably would have left to go do it. The problem is, nothing else did come along, meanwhile I have bills and rent to pay.

syklops

elviscostello wrote: »

I really hope if they do think about doing something like this, that they focus on the known scroungers, and don't be dragging the decent people in for these interviews. Drag in the people who aren't producing proof of job seeking, and leave the decent people with a bit of belief in the system.

Or drag in the people who were on the dole when Immigrants with no english were getting jobs in Spar.

Nothingbetter2d

syklops wrote: »

I remember ringing up a previous boss of mine because I saw his company were looking for analysts and I said "Would you consider me?" And he said some thing along the lines of "Don't be silly. You would be bored and leave within three months" and i was saying "no I wont. I'll make a commitment to stay" and he kept saying that i would leave when i got bored, or I would be head hunted. This was early 2009 at the start of the crisis. So I ended up leaving the country because there was nothing else.

I understand his point of view, and if someone had come along offering me great money I probably would have left to go do it. The problem is, nothing else did come along, meanwhile I have bills and rent to pay.

this is exactly why most irish people dont work in low skilled jobs, its not for lack of applying but its actually the employers choosing foreigners over irish because they know the foreigners are more likely to stay where as the irish with work there until something better comes. Skylops has hit the nail on the head there.

Despite having previous experience working in chippers and pubs i still get turned down for interviews when i apply because they think ill leave as soon as i get a better offer.

ilovesleep

So if an unemployed person fails in his/her duty to find work they get their benefit/assistance cut.

But if an ex prime minister fails at running the country leaving an economic failure - he gets rewarded. He's allowed to keep his pension!!

How about lazy politicians in office Joan? What is your plan for those?

AnonoBoy

It seems to me like this will be no different from the past. When I was on the dole years ago you had to submit evidence that you were looking for a job every so often. I only had to do it once as I wasn't on it for all that long.

"Called to an interview" ≠ "Kicked off the dole"

Sykk

Kirby wrote: »

I know a guy who has a Masters degree. He's pretty decent at what he does.

It's tough out there at the moment. It will get better but it's going to take a few years for the country to recover.

Doesn't mean anything.. Seriously.

Nothingbetter2d

ilovesleep wrote: »

So of an unemployed person fails in his/her duty to find work they get their benefit/assistance cute.

But if an ex prime minister fails at running the country leaving an economic failure - he gets rewarded. He's allowed to keep in pension!!

How about lazy politicians in office Joan? What is your plan for those?

how about getting rid of most of those lazy local politicians... 900+ local councillors and most of them dont actually do much to justify their expenses.

ilovesleep

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

this is exactly why most irish people dont work in low skilled jobs, its not for lack of applying but its actually the employers choosing foreigners over irish because they know the foreigners are more likely to stay where as the irish with work there until something better comes. Skylops has hit the nail on the head there.

Despite having previous experience working in chippers and pubs i still get turned down for interviews when i apply because they think ill leave as soon as i get a better offer.

This and don't anybody else fool themselves.

I studied a hospitality course years ago and was unable to get work even in a cafe yet everywhere I walked into there were foreigners working.

the_syco

Joan Burton has got to be one of the dimmest TDs in power!

Nothingbetter2d

we should force kenny and gilmore to vote no confidence in joan burton lol

thebostoncrab

hondasam wrote: »

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

with that rotten attitude i hope you lose your job.

It's not a rotten attitude imo. I'm sick of peoples attitude's here, there are some jobs out there but people are not willing to work for the crap money.

I will not be losing my job but if I did I would get another one.

I'm going try be as civil as possible here, but I'll be blunt, I take your post very personally and it makes my blood boil.

For 18 months I was on the dole. I searched for work daily, anything at all I was not picky. I applied for jobs that paid less than dole, I just wanted to work simply because it is easier to find a job when you are working. But it was incredibly rare to even get a rejection letter from a company, never mind getting an interview.

So to just say that after 6 months dole should be halfed, no questions asked, is incredibly stupid and short sighted. If that had of happened to me I would have had no way to pay rents, bills and other services. And I don't live in an area with high rent costs or shop in M&S.

In February I'll be on the dole again unless one of the places I had an interview with offer me a job. Currently I travel 2 and a half hours to work, simply because I dont want to go on the dole again. Unfortunatly it's a temp job.

So before you make such shortsighted comments think about the actually situation that people are in. It's ****ing horrible and depressing out there, and the last thing needed is something to make it worse.

gcgirl

I know a lot of 50 + in age people and have been working their asses off and lost their jobs due to the recession and cannot get any work because of their age, plus there are NO JOBS out there, the government are doing fook all to create jobs.

Joe10000

I'm not sure about time limits but I do think unemployment benefit should be reduced every six months until after three years it hits zero.

gcgirl

thebostoncrab wrote: »

hondasam wrote: »

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

with that rotten attitude i hope you lose your job.

It's not a rotten attitude imo. I'm sick of peoples attitude's here, there are some jobs out there but people are not willing to work for the crap money.

I will not be losing my job but if I did I would get another one.

I'm going try be as civil as possible here, but I'll be blunt, I take your post very personally and it makes my blood boil.

For 18 months I was on the dole. I searched for work daily, anything at all I was not picky. I applied for jobs that paid less than dole, I just wanted to work simply because it is easier to find a job when you are working. But it was incredibly rare to even get a rejection letter from a company, never mind getting an interview.

So to just say that after 6 months dole should be halfed, no questions asked, is incredibly stupid and short sighted. If that had of happened to me I would have had no way to pay rents, bills and other services. And I don't live in an area with high rent costs or shop in M&S.

In February I'll be on the dole again unless one of the places I had an interview with offer me a job. Currently I travel 2 and a half hours to work, simply because I dont want to go on the dole again. Unfortunatly it's a temp job.

So before you make such shortsighted comments think about the actually situation that people are in. It's ****ing horrible and depressing out there, and the last thing needed is something to make it worse.

+ a million

fryup

correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't it in Canada you get the social welfare for something like 6 months and thats it and you're left to your own devices after that

2 stroke

Nice one starting this thread when the majority of dole spongers are still in bed.
How many of you are suposed to be working at the moment?

dipper.meath16

The Dole is as depressing as f**k, and if you think its easy to get work, think again!! im lucky, though, i was let go 3 years ago, was on the dole for a few months, and applied for college(i'm 23) So i went to further myself! 'Im on back to education alowence, however as part of college i'm now on 9 months work placement, driving 200k a day to try get a job at the end of it, so please do not tar every one with the one brush!
Yes there is scroungers and frauds, i bet everyone here knows or knows of them, and wont dob them in!
Living out in the country, were your a few miles from local shop, no car, no savings, with 188 yoyo in your pocket, there can seem to be no light at the end of the tunnel for people, trust me, so dont look down your nose at unemployed people who are trying to survive!
The Government departments need to take a good long look at them selves, some ex politicians are teachers etc, so are drawing 2 state pensions.. thats wrong, and them pensions are quite substantail, so loads of savings could be made there..
1.2 billion going to anglo bond holders today, who gambled there money, lost yet seem to be making a profit, and prob dont need it! That **** adds to depression! Look at priory hall for example, 1.2 billion could prob put a lot of families back in their homes!!
The government need to snap back to reality, they honestly think their ****e does not stink!

_feedback_

gcgirl wrote: »

there are NO JOBS out there, the government are doing fook all to create jobs.

Ah but sure didn't Joan give us the internship scheme? That's a great addition.

This is how it works. It seems that ANY person who wants to call themselves an employer can apply for an intern. An internship is like supervised learning, and basically gives people an opportunity to work in a position they may not get in to otherwise, and learn a bit about it.

It's a fabulous scheme. Some amazing internships have been offered. Topaz were so kind to give the opportunity to join their forecourt attendant internship. The Old Ground Hotel in Ennis were amazing, and welcomed a kitchen porter intern. There were even opportunities to take on a Landscaper internship.

Translate all the above sarcastic bullshít and you get: They have diminished any chance of low skilled work coming available by allowing "employers" to take advantage of the unemployed and get free labour for themselves. Sickening really.

ilovesleep

gcgirl wrote: »

I know a lot of 50 + in age people and have been working their asses off and lost their jobs due to the recession and cannot get any work because of their age, plus there are NO JOBS out there, the government are doing fook all to create jobs.

And for anyone young it will be very hard to move else where around ireland else work on 100 euro social welfare a week. They are pretty much stuck at home in their own locality for work.

jc84

elviscostello wrote: »

Ah but sure didn't Joan give us the internship scheme? That's a great addition.

This is how it works. It seems that ANY person who wants to call themselves an employer can apply for an intern. An internship is like supervised learning, and basically gives people an opportunity to work in a position they may not get in to otherwise, and learn a bit about it.

It's a fabulous scheme. Some amazing internships have been offered. Topaz were so kind to give the opportunity to join their forecourt attendant internship. The Old Ground Hotel in Ennis were amazing, and welcomed a kitchen porter intern. There were even opportunities to take on a Landscaper internship.

Translate all the above sarcastic bullshít and you get: They have diminished any chance of low skilled work coming available by allowing "employers" to take advantage of the unemployed and get free labour for themselves. Sickening really.

any scheme introduced will be abused, i personally think the internship scheme is fantastic, where i work, we've taken on several interns in accounting positions, they badly need the experience as they can't get qualified without a minimum of 2-3 years experience, so at least by doing this they are getting 9 months, we've also taken people on in other positions and kept them on afterwards full-time, i think the scheme is great

The actual practical real-world effect of this will be that those who have their social welfare cut will simply resort to other means. Be this fraud or (most likely) theft/burglary.

Social Welfare cuts should be blanket cuts. Affect everyone and no one feels overly hard done by. Affect a minority of that group and they will retaliate. Fairly basic stuff.

token101

elviscostello wrote: »

Ah but sure didn't Joan give us the internship scheme? That's a great addition.

This is how it works. It seems that ANY person who wants to call themselves an employer can apply for an intern. An internship is like supervised learning, and basically gives people an opportunity to work in a position they may not get in to otherwise, and learn a bit about it.

It's a fabulous scheme. Some amazing internships have been offered. Topaz were so kind to give the opportunity to join their forecourt attendant internship. The Old Ground Hotel in Ennis were amazing, and welcomed a kitchen porter intern. There were even opportunities to take on a Landscaper internship.

Translate all the above sarcastic bullshít and you get: They have diminished any chance of low skilled work coming available by allowing "employers" to take advantage of the unemployed and get free labour for themselves. Sickening really.

You can't really blame the companies though. If I was trying to save money, and all businesses are regardless of size, I'd apply for 'low skilled' workers aswell. It should be up to the clowns running the scheme to vet companies properly and ensure only skilled positions get in, ie tradesmen looking to finish a trade, students looking to get invaluable experience in their field. Internships are very valuable when used properly, but this is Ireland and they've f**ked it up as usual :rolleyes:

Uriel.

Kirby wrote: »

They still do this. You have to fill out a form every six months or so and provide written proof of failed applications, interviews etc.

Honestly, the militant "Spungerrrrs on da dole" brigade that show their faces everytime a thread like this rolls around are obviously already in employment. It's very, very easy to have a go at people struggling when you have a job yourself. Put yourselvs in their shoes for a minute please everyone before the flaming begins.

Yeah and on that... I have had plenty of guts coming into me. Track suit on, one hand down the front of their trousers, cigarette in mouth...

"how ya buuuuud, any jobs goin'?" (ME: "NO"). "Grand will ye sign me form"

On a few occasions I have said, "Yeah can you give me your CV" - guys grunts, turns around and walks out.

On one occasion after asking the guy to come back with a CV and I'd give him an interview he says "Fnuck that, I wouldn't work in this sh1thole anyway".

In my experience there are plenty of people who have no interest in working, even during the celtic tiger years, they are not suffering from an disability except for laziness and are only interested in being an anchor on society.

Filling out a form is not the best welfare fraud check in this instance.

monkeypants

AeoNGriM wrote: »

They used to do this not long ago, not sure about now. Jobseekers had to fill in a GSW form, Genuinely Seeking Work listing names of places they had applied for work and who they spoke to. I remember being asked to get it signed too.

I was asked to do this once while I was on the dole between '09 and '10. So before I walked into the office on Cumberland Street, I went into an internet cafe on Parnell Street and printed off loads of application emails, interview invitations, etc. to back up what I'd stated on the form. Cost about a fiver, which I could have done without spending on printing at the time. Brought them into the office, handed in the form. Didn't want to take the evidence, even though it mentioned on the form that it would be required. I ended up bringing it home for shredding.

My point is that, this being Ireland, why don't we try to make proper use of the tools we have already before we start worrying about new ones?

_feedback_

jc84 wrote: »

any scheme introduced will be abused, i personally think the internship scheme is fantastic, where i work, we've taken on several interns in accounting positions, they badly need the experience as they can't get qualified without a minimum of 2-3 years experience, so at least by doing this they are getting 9 months, we've also taken people on in other positions and kept them on afterwards full-time, i think the scheme is great

Of course it's good in theory, but they continue to allow it to be abused.. How can they get the dole numbers down if low paid/skilled jobs are being eliminated.

hondasam

thebostoncrab wrote: »

I'm going try be as civil as possible here, but I'll be blunt, I take your post very personally and it makes my blood boil.

why are you taking it personally, I don't know you and you don't know me.

So to just say that after 6 months dole should be halfed, no questions asked, is incredibly stupid and short sighted

Where did I say this?

token101

Kirby wrote: »

They still do this. You have to fill out a form every six months or so and provide written proof of failed applications, interviews etc.

Honestly, the militant "Spungerrrrs on da dole" brigade that show their faces everytime a thread like this rolls around are obviously already in employment. It's very, very easy to have a go at people struggling when you have a job yourself. Put yourselvs in their shoes for a minute please everyone before the flaming begins.

No one's having a go at genuine people, but there's a lot of people who aren't genuine. If you're genuinely looking for work and are just very unlucky you'll sail through any SW interview and keep your benefits, and rightfully so. But why should the state continue to fund people who haven't checked a job site in months, get up at midday everyday and have no intention of doing SFA ever and use the recession as a convenient scapegoat. And there's a lot of them out there, even if it's 5% or less.

In Cork City for instance, there's companies here hiring continously and they'll take almost ANYONE, even in these times they can't get people for love nor money. The work's not great, but it's a wage and twice what you'll get on the dole. If you're a graduate you'll stroll in hassle free. Nothing stopping you staying 6 months and emigrating, or working your way up the ladder. Yet they consistently get fewer applicants than there are jobs. Strange eh?

jc84

elviscostello wrote: »

Of course it's good in theory, but they continue to allow it to be abused.. How can they get the dole numbers down if low paid/skilled jobs are being eliminated.

i agree, i don't blame the companies advertising the scandalous positions although they should be ashamed of themselves, i blame the government for not monitoring or pre-approving these ridiculous positions

but at the end of the day, no one has to apply for these positions, they are obviously just taking advantage of people

Kirby

token101 wrote: »

In Cork City for instance, there's companies here hiring continously and they'll take almost ANYONE, even in these times they can't get people for love nor money. The work's not great, but it's a wage and twice what you'll get on the dole. If you're a graduate you'll stroll in hassle free. Nothing stopping you staying 6 months and emigrating, or working your way up the ladder. Yet they consistently get fewer applicants than there are jobs. Strange eh?

Would you mind listing these companies? Do they have websites?

Lord TSC

On the "You're asked to prove your looking for work" thing...I've been on the dole for 19 months now and bar a FAS interview two weeks after signing on, I've never been contacted about proving I'm looking for work. I've got letters and so forth to prove I am, but there's never been a word to me on proving I'm actually looking.

The thing which annoys me about this is how every day, there's stories in the papers about 2000 bank jobs gone, 1000 teaching jobs gone, businesses going whallop, more austerity measures coming in.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be looking to tackle welfare fraud, but tbh, there's other aspects that need to be examined rather than the basic unemployment aspect, which is not getting better any time soon. It would do them more good to tackle people frauding their way to disability benefits, single parent benefits and those sort of extra allowences which the people and the government can do something about. There's too many people unemployed and too few jobs out there to start introducing new punishments for long term unemployed, given that the number of long term unemployed is only going to continue to increase as time goes on and things continue to decline....