Social welfare and me...

question21

Hi,

I am engaged and living with my partner. We're both in college at the moment, as he was made redundant a year ago.
Our relationship isn't going well.. We've been together for 5 years and started living together at a young age (wasn't a great idea) and I think we are going to separate sooner or later... I never thought it would come to this, and basically financially I am dependent on him..
The problem is, that since we're both in college, I have no job, nothing. He gets social payment (now he's getting back to education) of 312 euro for both of us, because I am his partner and don't have a job. And my parents doesn't live in Ireland anymore. I have friends that I could stay with, but its only temporary. And I don't really want quit college to support myself and I hope I don't have to...
So my question is, if we separate would I be able to get anything from social welfare? At least to finish off this year of college..

Toast4532

If you are both entitled to the back to education allowance then if you split you will get €188 euros each.

As far as I'm aware the €300 grant that came with btea is no longer available. Although I could be wrong about that.

Cushie Butterfield

Hopefully you will be entitled to claim BTEA in your own right. As regards accommodation, I presume that you & your partner are in privately rented accommodation. I don't know if you are already in receipt of Rent Supplement, but if you are & the lease is in both your names you could apply for Rent Supplement in your own right.

To be eligible for it you have to be either a) already in privately rented accommodation for the previous six months OR b) registed with your local housing authority & be assessed as having a housing need. Pay a vist to your local Community Welfare Officer, explain the situation & find out what options are open to you.

You could also speak to your Student Union office to see if they could assist you in any way. There may be some sort of emergency or hardship fund available to help you. At the very least they may be able to help you find accommodation or have a list of available places to rent or houseshares & advise you of any entitlements.

The last thing you should do is pack in your studies. There is help out there. It may involve a lot of digging & red tape & paperwork, but believe it or not this will help you & give you something to concentrate on rather than your breakup. Establishing your new life & the fact that you are studying gives you an immediate goal & something to aim for during what at the moment is a difficult time both emotionally & financially, so keep your chin up & be pro-active in establishing your rights

question21

Cushie Butterfield wrote: »

Hopefully you will be entitled to claim BTEA in your own right. As regards accommodation, I presume that you & your partner are in privately rented accommodation. I don't know if you are already in receipt of Rent Supplement, but if you are & the lease is in both your names you could apply for Rent Supplement in your own right.

To be eligible for it you have to be either a) already in privately rented accommodation for the previous six months OR b) registed with your local housing authority & be assessed as having a housing need. Pay a vist to your local Community Welfare Officer, explain the situation & find out what options are open to you.

You could also speak to your Student Union office to see if they could assist you in any way. There may be some sort of emergency or hardship fund available to help you. At the very least they may be able to help you find accommodation or have a list of available places to rent or houseshares & advise you of any entitlements.

The last thing you should do is pack in your studies. There is help out there. It may involve a lot of digging & red tape & paperwork, but believe it or not this will help you & give you something to concentrate on rather than your breakup. Establishing your new life & the fact that you are studying gives you an immediate goal & something to aim for during what at the moment is a difficult time both emotionally & financially, so keep your chin up & be pro-active in establishing your rights

Thanks this information is really helpful. We're going to social welfare tomorrow, to see what they can give me. College was always really important to me, that's why I'm worried of having to drop out and having to look for jobs (that doesn't exist). We tried rent supplement, but apparently the rent was too high, so we left it there. But this month we got it reduced to 80eu a week (previously paid 100eu). I want to move out as soon as possible, even though we communicate well, and trying to stay friendly, because we both realise that this relationship wasn't meant to be, he's trying to help me out as much as he can (probably feels guilty).. My only worry is that if I am eligible to get my payment in my own right, they will cut my part from his (as he gives my part to me now) and it will take ages until they sort everything out.

Cushie Butterfield

question21 wrote: »

Thanks this information is really helpful. We're going to social welfare tomorrow, to see what they can give me. College was always really important to me, that's why I'm worried of having to drop out and having to look for jobs (that doesn't exist). We tried rent supplement, but apparently the rent was too high, so we left it there. But this month we got it reduced to 80eu a week (previously paid 100eu). I want to move out as soon as possible, even though we communicate well, and trying to stay friendly, because we both realise that this relationship wasn't meant to be, he's trying to help me out as much as he can (probably feels guilty).. My only worry is that if I am eligible to get my payment in my own right, they will cut my part from his (as he gives my part to me now) and it will take ages until they sort everything out.

You may be able to apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance through your Community Welfare Officer to bridge any gap between any delays in your payment, as soon as you have applied for BTEA Allowance & your part of your ex's has stopped, though it may well be the case that it happens at the same time. You will also have check that the rent in your new place will be under the maximum rent limits, as will your ex in the current place if he plans staying there as you will be each be claiming as a single person. http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Maximum-Rent-Limits-by-County.aspx

So you'll need to liase with your local Social Welfare Office BTEA section plus your Local Community Welfare Officer, with the possibility of also having to register with your Local Council Housing Authority to be assessed as being in need of housing (in order to claim rent Supplement). Also your Student's Union Office and Student Welfare Office at your College.

Hopefully, between the lot of them they should be able to guide & help you along with as little disruption as possible.

Best of Luck!