Return to Post Office Collection Jobseekers Payments

Dempo1

Surprised its not been discussed here but just thought, worth mentioning from Feb 2022. All new Jobseeker Payment applications will be processed on the Basis of collection from Claimants Local Post Office Only, with a gradual return of existing claims to this method in the coming months. Only in "Exceptional Circumstances" will other payment methods be considered.

I assume this includes SWA payments also.

I don't believe this change will impact other SW payments such as Illness, Disibility etc.

The reasons given are Twofold

A. Increase Footfall in Post Offices (Bizzare) justification.

B. Combat Fraud. Whilst there maybe some merit in this reason, it would seem the department has no Faith in its own Systems, Such as fully verified MYGOVID or Mywelfare Accounts. It would seem this decision is more about propping up Post Offices than anything else. Those affected will now have additional costs in lodging their payments into their Bank accounts and I presume those living rurally will have additional costs getting to their local Post Offices, most, many Kilometres away from their Homes.

Anyway, it is was it is so just wanted to mention this decision here as some may not even be aware of it, particularly those getting payments directly into their Bank / Credit Union Accounts at present.

THIS IS AN INFORMATION THREAD, NOT AN INVITATION TO TROLL OR BASH JOBSEEKER RECEPIENTS, SO PLEASE NO BILE.

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/d6c23-minister-humphreys-announces-jobseeker-payments-to-return-to-the-post-office/

TooTired123

Just wanted to mention that if you were working part time and getting your JS into the bank before all this then you will continue of course as you were.

Atlantic Dawn

Increasing footfall is an odd one, I've seen q's out the door of my local post office as early as last week. Can't imagine the old folks will be a fan of more younger people being around them with zero rules for social distancing. Is someone on Jobseekers suddenly going to become a stamp collector, what in the jaysus would they start to buy in the post office?

Pauliedragon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550707#Comment_118550707

I agree but I think social distancing has been gone for a while now. If u can go to a packed pub or a nightclub can't see too many other places worrying about it.

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550736#Comment_118550736

Yes but you have a choice to go to the pub or nightclub, no choice if it's mandatory to collect your social welfare at the post office.

Pauliedragon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550759#Comment_118550759

I don't know about ur post office but social distancing was gone a long time ago at my local one.

zell12

Business picks up in the vicinity of post offices on 'dole day' due to footfall. Also it's important that people go into their towns, villages and support them after the past two years instead of buying online/outside area.

About fraud, we've seen how the PUP was abused. Would not surprise me if JSA is being abused similarly. Having to physically present at a post office can weed some out.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550707#Comment_118550707

Precisely, its a bizzare reasoning, I can understand possible fraud potential but fraud should be detected at point of application or soon after . If the department want to verify identities surely a quick sign on at Intero centres should suffice but of course the department doesn't want that inconvenience. The notion people are going to spend more in perhaps connected shop or supermarket is absurd.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550845#Comment_118550845

PUP was of course abused but most cases discovered in 2020 . And perhaps there is abuses re JSA but I can't believe claimants are going to spend more locally , historically smaller local convenience stores, extremely expensive and even more so now with inflation.

Dempo1

The main thing that's not been factored into this decision is additional costs to claimant's, particularly banking . I'm not affected by this decision but I've had to prepare for KBC closing down , if I had to lodge cash regularly there's a cost to that , I don't know what rates are but check Post Money and its €.50 cent per lodgement, that may not seem a lot but there's getting to post office if you live rural and if on €208.00 pw every cent counts.

Of course people have to travel for say interviews, courses etc and there's a logic and benefit to these tasks, there's no logic forcing people to collect payment at PO particularly if they have a verified mygovID account , finally not every one has a PPS card, from what I gather this is required when collecting at PO so what's going to happen were someone doesn't have one

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550935#Comment_118550935

They need to do a trawl of every single person on the pension against those issued a death cert each year, that would be relatively simple for some lads straight out of college with nothing more than a few files to compare.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118551034#Comment_118551034

Absolutely, there's been some shocking cases of pension fraud (not the recent one so to speak) but the guy drawing a dead parents pension for decades, I can not understand how this is happening, extraordinary 😳

zell12

Regarding bank charges, people can open a basic bank account with no charges if income is below minimum wage. BoI, AIB, Ulster have AnPost lodgment facilities

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118553452#Comment_118553452

That's an excellent post and appreciated, I honestly had no idea such an option existed and obviously not widely advertised , very helpful to know hopefully will assist anyone who possibly faces lodgement fees with this recent decision by DEASP.

Obviously there are T&C's

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550707#Comment_118550707

The old folks collect their pension Fridays. Dole day is Monday, so.

crossmolinalad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118553531#Comment_118553531

Not everywhere Here dole day is on friday also

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118558745#Comment_118558745

That’s just not the case. The payments are sent everywhere the same day. What you might be seeing is people who don’t collect jobseekers Monday and wait til Friday (for whatever reason)

but let me assure you the jobseekers payments are paid Monday.

edit: or they’re collecting PUP? I’m not sure what day that’s paid

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118558764#Comment_118558764

I always understood pension were paid on Fridays , the PUP was paid late on Mondays, hitting accounts Tuesday, Jobseekers also on Tuesdays and certain illness, disability payments Wednesday, but I'm open to correction.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118558873#Comment_118558873

Jobseekers is Monday idk about PUP at all and you’re spot on for the rest afaik

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559013#Comment_118559013

👍 I wasn't sure about JSA/B Payment days 😏

golondrinas

Remember the ash cloud, weeded out thousands. More than a weeks pay available from Paddy and then your able to work in your own eastern country.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118553531#Comment_118553531

What about people who just want to do what post offices are supposed to do - like buy stamps and post parcels? You wouldn't mind if there were two queues - one for all the social welfare claimants and one for all other business. But no, inevitably you may waste your time standing in line behind otherwise young, fit citizens with nothing better to do that collect piles of notes. Mind you some could be in a hurry to get out and onto the next nixer :) At least those have a bit of enterprise about them.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559233#Comment_118559233

I see your Trawling through boards to find a Thread to post bile and nonsense on, one assumes you don't read OP's. If you've nothing constructive to add , perhaps find something else to amuse yourself with.

What a strange, Mundane world some people live in 🙄

hawthorne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559136#Comment_118559136

The ash cloud thing was a big myth. Fake news peddled by the media and interesting parties. The DSW examined the problem and found no irregularities. Of course the story is a great tool for xenophobes.

hawthorne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118558873#Comment_118558873

I can confirm the Illness Benefit coming into my bank account somewhere around 6 AM every Wednesday morning. I suppose it is the same for the PO offices.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559136#Comment_118559136

There always has to be one , or indeed 3 🙄

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559393#Comment_118559393

Thanks @hawthorne

I've actually just been advised by my GP that I need to consider this payment, long story, I'd been putting off the inevitable , I'm told initially IB and then DA or IP, long term Diagnosis etc, A Daunting process ahead 🙄

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559374#Comment_118559374

Precisely but Troller's will never allow facts get in the way 😏

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559296#Comment_118559296

I'm not bashing anyone Dempo - just observing what happens in post office queues. And from chat with people who work there and their local knowledge of peoples circumstances. That's how some want to live and not for you or I to lock them up. It's up to the department to verify, verify and verify peoples claims.

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118558873#Comment_118558873

Illness Benefit can be paid any day of the week from Monday to Friday (and sometimes Saturdays depending on your bank). Depends on your first day of Illness. For example if the first day you're claiming from is a Monday you will receive your payment the following Monday (assuming everything is in order), it's paid in arrears for 6 days with Sunday not included.

Jobseeker's Payments can be paid any day too I believe, I know when I was claiming it many moons ago it was paid on a Friday. But others collect it on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday as well.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559722#Comment_118559722

I like your contributions generally but in fairness , I asked at the start of this thread to stay on topic, it was for information purposes only and not an invite to drag un related assertions into it .

Of course there are some who act the maggot re Jobseeker entitlements, that's a separate issue, I'm just requesting we don't bring this stuff into this thread please.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559898#Comment_118559898

Jobseekers BENEFIT might be paid on the day claims commence but jobseekers ALLOWANCE is paid MONDAY and that’s the end of it.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118560108#Comment_118560108

Grand but as regards the OP, I'm generally not in favour of lengthening PO queues. Who's yer man who runs An Post with the la-de-da accent, I've silently swore at him from time to time - who thinks his time & spreadsheets are more precious than his customers time.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118560209#Comment_118560209

Fair enough 😏 And I recall that interview with the PO chief executive and he couldn't give a shyte about the PO network 😏

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559898#Comment_118559898

Thanks for that clarification Necro 👍

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118560177#Comment_118560177

Must be a new thing so cos I was on JA and always got paid Friday. That being said it's a few years ago now.

Edit: actually now I think of it my wife's JA is paid weekly on Fridays too

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118560248#Comment_118560248

Do you get into bank or post office?

for example very often when there’s a bank holiday Monday they pay JSA on Friday or Saturdays since you can’t collect Monday.

edit: for bank it may arrive earlier because they process they payment Thursday to arrive for Monday

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118560385#Comment_118560385

She gets it into the bank alright, normally arrives on a Thursday eve but when it was post office it was Friday.

olestoepoke

For some people waiting in line for a Jobseekers is a humiliating and embarressing experience. I have a friend who ended up on JS for a couple of months and he was mortified to a point that he would buy stamps and leave if anyone he knew was in the queue. For him this made him get back to work a lot quicker, maybe they know this works for some and is partly the reason. Just a wild theory though, fraud is most likely the main reason.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118560651#Comment_118560651

I bet the reason your mate felt like that is the vile comments from people like you’d see on boards. Anyone who needed to claim welfare for a bit would feel like they’re some sort of lazy scumbag with the way it’s talked about here at times.

No one should feel embarrassed about having a hard time and I almost would guarantee his anxiety was for that exactly reason or at least played a part!

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118560873#Comment_118560873

Well said and sadly some quick to judge . In life generally there are those who play the system, act dishonestly etc . It often shocks me the vitriol leveled at those for whatever reason require state supports , it actually got worse when the pandemic hit with over 609k people forced to claim PUP, the "we're in this together " cliche suddenly sounded very hollow. But thankfully there are many on Boards with greater experience than I to offer support and advice to those who genuinely need it 😏

olestoepoke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118560873#Comment_118560873

You're right, there is a snobbery and a lot of comments are unwarranted. People are far too quick to judge others and they know nothing of their personal predicament. A very ignorant attitude I agree. I also get that there is a certain stigma attached to collecting JS. I grew up in a working class council estate in the 80s so I'm no stranger to hard times. There is no denying that for some it is embarrassing though, you argue that that is because of other peoples attitudes which is partly true but personal pride plays a part too.

golondrinas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559374#Comment_118559374

I take on board the sensitivities of people on s/w benefits.

Gov figures at the time reveal more than 3500 persons failed to claim benefit in the first week of the ash cloud.

The minister at the time Mary Hannafin ( believing this was serious ) decreed that claimants would have to go to the post office for payments .

No Irish or EU persons living inIreland at the time were grounded by the ash — hey Hawthorne go figure.

I apologise to Dempo1 for going off topic and will not post again on this. I was rankled by the xenophobic gibe. I support business here run by Eastern Europeans. It’s the one gaming the system from abroad I have no time for.

dxhound2005

It's good to see another exceptional measure being dispensed with.

"When public health restrictions were introduced in 2020, people in receipt of social welfare were given the option of being paid into a bank account.

This was an exceptional measure to help reduce the spread of the virus and ensure people could comply with social distancing guidelines."

silver2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118559136#Comment_118559136

There are plenty of Irish in southern Spain who enjoy their Irish jobseekeers allowance, especially in the winter months when you can get very cheap accommodation. It's a running joke in some downtrodden areas of Dublin.

And the "eastern European" racist remark you make is totally inaccurate. The numbers were very small in comparison to the fraud by Irish nationals (including one that lived in Spain for 16years whilst claiming)

zell12

"They have excellent staff, and they do a great service in our communities but to keep a post office open, a lot of people don’t remember this, a post office gets paid per transaction. Not a wage, not anything else, it’s per transaction. If a person opts to get their pension paid into the bank or decides to not open an account in their local post office, they’re effectively driving the nail in the coffin of that post office, and we don’t want to see that happening.”

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/im-very-disappointed-as-a-postmaster-michael-healy-rae-concerned-over-an-post-stamp-price-rise-41300314.html

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118566112#Comment_118566112

excruciating to listen to his rambling on Claire Byrne show earlier, MHR appears to believe its every citizen's duty to not only have an account with the PO but support their local post office in every way , of course let's not forget that amongst his many enterprise's and vast business empire, he's also a Post Master.

Utter Clown

hawthorne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118564218#Comment_118564218

I do not understand why people keep peddling this invented sensationalist rubbish.

Minister for Social Protection at the time of the ash cloud was NOT Mary Hannafin- but Eamon O Cuiv. He was questioned about the bull spread by some media and people jumping on the xenophobic bandwagon. Here is what O Cuiv had to say about the myth when he was questioned about it in the Dail:

Social Welfare Fraud – Tuesday, 2 Nov 2010 – Parliamentary Questions (30th Dáil) – Houses of the Oireachtas

I sincerely hope this clarifies the matter for you as well!

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567291#Comment_118567291

I was going to post on this but bit my lip 😏

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118566366#Comment_118566366

Well if you really want to send him over the edge

“I’m very disappointed because what we see happening then is we see people using emails and using everything else,” he said.

everyone just send him loads of emails he’ll go mad!

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567934#Comment_118567934

Lol, I'd honestly doubt if MHR knew what email is 😁 not sure if you heard the interview but my god that man has some neck, asked on to comment on price increases on stamps and instead went into a 10 minute tangent promoting An Post and your local friendly post master, even Claire Byrne started to laugh at his nonsense, he practically said your local post master will even drive you home they are so caring and wonderful. My own is a grumpy, Nosey, lazy good for nothing, miserable waste of space who's so lazy he wouldn't even scratch himself 😁

It was comical and worth a listen too.