The Dole and proof of looking for work

Jason_

Are some dole offices more lax than others when it comes to providing proof of looking for work ? A friend of mine from west cork just got her local shop owner to scribble a note that she asked him for a job but he had none available and she was granted the dole.

Wacker The Attacker

I showed them all my letters.

I'd say at least 90% of them didnt even bother their arse to respond

Mr. Incognito

You have to register with fas who are a joke of an organisation and that tends to do most of them

jane82

I was talking to a fella on the dole the other day. He said "look there arn't enough jobs for everyone. I'm able to live on 188 a week. Some people don't have that skill. I'm not going to take their job".
He had a point, kind of.

osarusan

When I was on the dole, I was never asked even once to provide any evidence of looking for work.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Food stamps with rent allowance sounds like a fair game, no able bodied man should be getting the 188 into his paw every week. When you're down accept it take the stamps and try and get back on your feet.

jane82

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Food stamps with rent allowance sounds like a fair game, no able bodied man should be getting the 188 into his paw every week. When you're down accept it take the stamps and try and get back on your feet.

Yeah lets put them all in jail sure.

No Pants

Going back to 2010 here, but I was sent a letter then, asking me to come in to an office in Dublin 1 to prove my jobseeking. I spent an hour in an internet cafe on Parnell Square East, printing off all my applications, invites to interview and any rejections. It cost me a few quid, but I have no printer at home and probably never will have. Brought them in to the dole office and they didn't even look at them. All they wanted me to do was sign a declaration. Wouldn't even take the printouts off me for the file.

There's a State Benefits forum that can probably give a more detailed answer.

cloudatlas

They barely looked at my letters either. In my experience the majority of dole officers aren't properly trained.

Banjo String

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Food stamps with rent allowance sounds like a fair game, no able bodied man should be getting the 188 into his paw every week. When you're down accept it take the stamps and try and get back on your feet.

FFS. :rolleyes:

Make em wear special badges to easily identify them while you're at it sure.

DEFTLEFTHAND

jane82 wrote: »

Yeah lets put them all in jail sure.

They're down on their luck not criminals. Just going on other countries that don't have such generous welfare.

PirateShampoo

They literally don't give a **** about you down there, your just a number in a file with a few box's ticked.

If you don't have a job then your just scum who should be treated with contempt.

It's no wonder we have a massive suicide rate in this country when it comes to depression.

Mate, your best off making an appointment with your local releaving officer and having a chat with them. When I was trying to sign on the dole office gave me the run around for 5 months, then 1 meeting with the releaving officer it got all sorted.

Mint Aero

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Food stamps with rent allowance sounds like a fair game, no able bodied man should be getting the 188 into his paw every week. When you're down accept it take the stamps and try and get back on your feet.

Paw? Excuse me, but would you like to clarify as to why you're comparing a person on the dole to a dog. Thanks.

mad muffin

Back in 2008 when I was on job seekers allowance for 9 months, not once was I asked about any kind of job seeking.

Jason_

I guess they could be more relaxed for people in rural areas with no public transport and so on ?

Penny Tration

Jason_ wrote: »

I guess they could be more relaxed for in rural areas with no public transport and so on ?

Why would they be more relaxed in places with no public transport? You can apply for jobs online nowadays.

V.W.L 11

green_screen wrote: »

Why would they be more relaxed in places with no public transport? You can apply for jobs online nowadays.

no experience no job = no job no experience,thats what an awful lot of employers are using against people these days including myself :mad:

Penny Tration

V.W.L 11 wrote: »

no experience no job = no job no experience,thats what an awful lot of employers are using against people these days including myself :mad:

Okay, but that has nothing to do with what I said in response to the poster I quoted.

fleet_admiral

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Food stamps with rent allowance sounds like a fair game, no able bodied man should be getting the 188 into his paw every week. When you're down accept it take the stamps and try and get back on your feet.

what about single women on the dole?

humbert

In fairness to DEFTLEFTHAND if you could prevent them spending it on drink and gambling it would not affect the people looking for work, who are just trying to get by, all that much but it would make life a lot less fun for the real scroungers.

DEFTLEFTHAND

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Food stamps with rent allowance sounds like a fair game, no able bodied man should be getting the 188 into his paw every week. When you're down accept it take the stamps and try and get back on your feet.

Yeah sure most people who are unemployed are there out of choice. Sure aren't there hundreds of thousands of jobs out there and only the lazy haven't jobs.

You got to love how some people are so eager to kick those who are down on their luck. Yes there are some people with no intention of ever getting a job but most people are unemployed due to circumstances and not out of choice. €188 a week isn't a lot and when bills are paid there's little left. Food stamps would just be a further kick to those diwn on their luck and would most likely have a negative affect on the economy. The one thing about those getting the dole is that pretty much all the noney is going back into the economy. It's not sitting in accounts it's being spent in shops.

It's hard for people to get back in their feet when there's such a lack of stable ground around. I believe that there is something like 25 or 27 unemployed person per job vacancy. In sure someone will tell us about all the great FAS courses out there but most of those of a joke. A 9 month course in basic computing where you spend a few days setting up an email account, something you can do in 10 minutes.

humbert

fleet_admiral wrote: »

what about single women on the dole?

You surely mean single mothers?

V.W.L 11

green_screen wrote: »

Okay, but that has nothing to do with what I said in response to the poster I quoted.

You said about applying for jobs online,employers dont even acknowledge receipt of nearly all applications,when they do they want experience,if you get proof great,if not the dole do hound people,in cities anyway

humbert

humbert wrote: »

In fairness to DEFTLEFTHAND if you could prevent them spending it on drink and gambling it would not affect the people looking for work, who are just trying to get by, all that much but it would make life a lot less fun for the real scroungers.

If someone who is unemployed has a few euro left at the end of the week and they want to have a drink or place a bet then I don't see the issue. Sure there's better ways it could be spent but everyone needs to let off a little steam. Looking for a job is at this stage a full time job and most people spend hours every day looking so let them have their beer.

The real scroungers, the ones who never worked and have no intention of ever doing so know all the trucks and can play the system better than anyone. These type of measures wouldn't affect them all that much and it's unfair to penalise the majority for the actions of a minority.

fleet_admiral

humbert wrote: »

You surely mean single mothers?

no, single women

Dick phelan

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Food stamps with rent allowance sounds like a fair game, no able bodied man should be getting the 188 into his paw every week. When you're down accept it take the stamps and try and get back on your feet.

spoken like a person clearly never on the dole. 188 quid is nothing hard to live on that if you have a morgage and kids i'm sure your one of those who would rather they apply for scambridge get paid 50 quid that won't even cover travel in some cases and work for free.

Penny Tration

V.W.L 11 wrote: »

You said about applying for jobs online,employers dont even acknowledge receipt of nearly all applications,when they do they want experience,if you get proof great,if not the dole do hound people,in cities anyway

Someone said they assumed the social welfare would hound you less if you lived in a place with crap transport. I said that wasn't the case. I didn't say anything about employers not hiring you because you have no experience.

The poster was asking about the welfare office, thats what I spoke about, not employers.

Penny Tration

Dick phelan wrote: »

spoken like a person clearly never on the dole. 188 quid is nothing hard to live on that if you have a morgage and kids i'm sure your one of those who would rather they apply for scambridge get paid 50 quid that won't even cover travel in some cases and work for free.

While I agree that the dole is not enough for a family with kids to live off of, saying you will onlyget 188 with a mortgage and kids is wrong.

Medical cards, child benefit, fuel allowance. It's never just 188 for someone with children.

Specialun

They should be made fix the potholes

***above post might not be serious****

humbert

Deleted User wrote: »

If someone who is unemployed has a few euro left at the end of the week and they want to have a drink or place a bet then I don't see the issue. Sure there's better ways it could be spent but everyone needs to let off a little steam. Looking for a job is at this stage a full time job and most people spend hours every day looking so let them have their beer.

Other people are paying for you to have a drink or make the bet, you can't justify that. In the grand scheme of things it's a trivial issue but it's not justified.

If a system were possible that would prevent welfare being spent on anything but necessities without undue indignity to the legitimate recipients then that would surely be the most fair. I don't, however, think such a system exists.

Jason_

green_screen wrote: »

Why would they be more relaxed in places with no public transport? You can apply for jobs online nowadays.

I mean if some jobs were considered to be too far way from the persons home. Afaik people can post in their monthly signing card if they live a certain amount of km away from their local welfare office.

humbert

humbert wrote: »

Other people are paying for you to have a drink or make the bet, you can't justify that. In the grand scheme of things it's a trivial issue but it's not justified.

If a system were possible that would prevent welfare being spent on anything but necessities without undue indignity to the legitimate recipients then that would surely be the most fair. I don't, however, think such a system exists.

And what about all the tax that people paid before they became unemployed? someone whose worked all their life and then finds themselves unemployed is pretty much just reclaiming some/all of their tax back.

fleet_admiral

Specialun wrote: »

They should be made fix the potholes

***above post might not be serious****

they should be given work at polling stations instead of teachers getting more overtime

humbert

Deleted User wrote: »

And what about all the tax that people paid before they became unemployed? someone whose worked all their life and then finds themselves unemployed is pretty much just reclaiming some/all of their tax back.

Completely separate argument.

Nonoperational

Deleted User wrote: »

If someone who is unemployed has a few euro left at the end of the week and they want to have a drink or place a bet then I don't see the issue. Sure there's better ways it could be spent but everyone needs to let off a little steam. Looking for a job is at this stage a full time job and most people spend hours every day looking so let them have their beer.

The real scroungers, the ones who never worked and have no intention of ever doing so know all the trucks and can play the system better than anyone. These type of measures wouldn't affect them all that much and it's unfair to penalise the majority for the actions of a minority.

Feck it, it just really doesn't seem right that the government provide gambling money for people.

Ann Landers

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Food stamps with rent allowance sounds like a fair game,

Nice and stigmatising.

humbert

humbert wrote: »

Completely separate argument.

It really isn't. That those who lose their job get JSB for the first 9 months seems to indicate that there is some connection as its based on your PSRI payments.

It's clear that many people seem to think that of you are looking for work then you should be denied any enjoyment or luxury. They seem to view the unemployed as beneath them and think that that should be treated differently. If someone has €20 at the end if the week let them enjoy themselves, it doesn't hurt anyone and will most likely be going back into the economy which is a good thing.

Nonoperational

Nonoperational wrote: »

Feck it, it just really doesn't seem right that the government provide gambling money for people.

But most unemployed people are t out gambling their €188. They use it to pay for the roof over their head, food, bills, ect. It's hard to find much left when you pay for the basic necessities. €188 a week doesn't go far and for many people, especially single people it's about all they get.

humbert

Deleted User wrote: »

It really isn't. That those who lose their job get JSB for the first 9 months seems to indicate that there is some connection as its based on your PSRI payments.

It's clear that many people seem to think that of you are looking for work then you should be denied any enjoyment or luxury. They seem to view the unemployed as beneath them and think that that should be treated differently. If someone has €20 at the end if the week let them enjoy themselves, it doesn't hurt anyone and will most likely be going back into the economy which is a good thing.

It's a separate issue because firstly it applies only to a subset of the group we are talking about and secondly comes with more conditions which would take the discussion further from the original point.

It's not about denial it's about entitlement. If you have €20 at the end of the week all that means is that you were given twenty Euro more than you needed. It does not entitle or justify your spending it on drink or gambling.

B.A._Baracus

Ahh another dole thread :P

I laugh every time one of these pops up. You always get the same sorts of people who think the dole is some great luxury lifestyle. But funny because said person wouldnt quit their job to go on the dole :pac:

HotHHead

I'm not surprised at some of the attitudes on this thread, good aul irish begrudery at its best.

Clearly some have never been on a SW payment, and for the ones who think we're all having the life of Reilly on 188 a week!!! are people seriously that naive??? get a bloody grip people.

I have on been asked on many occasions to provide proof that I was looking for work, I couldn't tell you how many CV I've sent out in the nearly 3 years I've been unemployed. Out of hundreds of CV's I was called for ONE interview for a part time time(which I start this week)
There are very few people who WANT to be unemployed and WANT to be on a SW payment, having jumped up pompous feckers looking down their snooty noses from there extremely high horses just pisses me right off.

AlanS181824

This thread is gone down hill very quick.

The majority of people on JobSeekers are actually looking for jobs, there are some who abuse the system but they're the minority.

IMO Let them be!

RayM

humbert wrote: »

If you have €20 at the end of the week all that means is that you were given twenty Euro more than you needed. It does not entitle or justify your spending it on drink or gambling.

Whatever you have left at the end of the week, you're 'entitled' to spend it whichever way you like. Whether that's on a crate of Stella or the 3:30 at Kempton, it's nobody else's business but your own.

People should worry less about what other people are doing.

humbert

humbert wrote: »

It's a separate issue because firstly it applies only to a subset of the group we are talking about and secondly comes with more conditions which would take the discussion further from the original point.

It's not about denial it's about entitlement. If you have €20 at the end of the week all that means is that you were given twenty Euro more than you needed. It does not entitle or justify your spending it on drink or gambling.

So basically if someone can a little budget better than others and save a little then they shouldn't be allowed to enjoy that money. You know what, maybe the unemployed should be issued with enough bread and water to last a week in in place of a payment. After all it's all a person needs to survive.

some people really have it in for those living off the bare minimum. You'd swear that the unemployed were living in the lap of luxury and you know, not scraping by from week to week terrified of any unexpected expense.

Penny Tration

humbert wrote: »

It's a separate issue because firstly it applies only to a subset of the group we are talking about and secondly comes with more conditions which would take the discussion further from the original point.

It's not about denial it's about entitlement. If you have €20 at the end of the week all that means is that you were given twenty Euro more than you needed. It does not entitle or justify your spending it on drink or gambling.

So, once people have their absolute basic needs met (food, shelter, water), they should be happy with that and obviously get too much money if they budget enough to have twenty euro to enjoy themselves with?

What about emotional needs? Getting out of the house and having a bit of fun is essential to their mental well being.

Tbh, as long as somebody isn't screwing the system, is actually applying for work, and is only receiving what they're entitled to (ie, most of the job seekers out there), they can spend their dole on coke and hookers for all I care.

Just like if I ever end up back on the dole, I'll spend it how I choose.

humbert

Deleted User wrote: »

So basically if someone can a little budget better than others and save a little then they shouldn't be allowed to enjoy that money.

You're arguing that you should get to enjoy the money taken from others and given to you and then you are surprised when there is begrudgery toward welfare recipients?

Penny Tration

humbert wrote: »

You're arguing that you should get to enjoy the money taken from others and given to you and then you are surprised when there is begrudgery toward welfare recipients?

Why should someone not enjoy money, if the opportunity arises?

If you think the dole is too high, blame the government, not the recipients, who are (for the most part) following procedure.

RayM

humbert wrote: »

You're arguing that you should get to enjoy the money taken from others and given to you and then you are surprised when there is begrudgery toward welfare recipients?

Are you arguing that unemployed people shouldn't be allowed to have any enjoyment at all?

humbert

humbert wrote: »

You're arguing that you should get to enjoy the money taken from others and given to you and then you are surprised when there is begrudgery toward welfare recipients?

I take it then that if you ever lose your job and find yourself on the dole that you'll be handing back any money left over at the end of the week.

If someone can budget and has a few euro left at the end of the week then they're entitled to spend it as they see fit. Anyone who begrudges someone living off €188 a week, spending a few euro on a beer or other luxury really needs to get their priorities in order. Most people when all bills are paid have little left and everyone needs a release, a chance to let off some steam. Mentally it's beneficial, it helps the economy and something as small as a single beer can make a world of difference. but I guess that people like you think the unemployed should be kicked while they're down.


You remind me of a 28 year old lad I know who told a man in his 50s who recently lost his job that he should be ashamed of himself for not cancelling netflix. The man in question had worked nonstop since he was 13 and as a single man gets nothing but his €188 a week, yet has people telling him that he shouldn't be allowed spend €7 a month on some entertainment.

Turtwig

humbert wrote: »

It's not about denial it's about entitlement. If you have €20 at the end of the week all that means is that you were given twenty Euro more than you needed. It does not entitle or justify your spending it on drink or gambling.

I'm curious how you would enforce this as most people have their own personal savings too. If the €20 euro on beer came from their own savings would that be ok?

Spending the €20 actually contributes to the local economy. Sort of helping to keeping others off the dole.

steddyeddy

Absolutely amazing some of the double standard in Irish society today. It's the rich kids I meet in college who complain about the dole most in my experience. Kids who never worked a day in their lives and get everything handed to them by mammy and daddy complaining that some people have a sense of entitlement. Bewildering.