Malcolm Byrne
Question:93. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which it can be ensured that work pays and that social protection supports do not disincentivise any individual to work. [46366/26]
View answerThursday, 18 June 2026
Questions (93)
Written answers
A key function of my Department is to support those who can work to do so. Consequently, many social welfare supports are structured so that individuals can take up employment without an immediate or full loss of income supports. This is typically achieved through the use of an earnings disregards, whereby a person can earn a certain amount of from employment without affecting their payment.
Beyond that initial disregard, only a proportion of remaining earnings is assessed as means and deducted from their social welfare payment. This ensures that an individual’s social welfare payment reduces at a slower rate than their earnings, such that their overall income increases.
This approach means that individuals should be financially better off in work than out of work and that the transition into employment, or into increased hours, is gradual rather than abrupt.
However, it is recognised that the interaction of different schemes and thresholds can still create complexity and, in some cases, weaken work incentives. In that context, the Department is exploring a new Working Age Payment. The new Working Age Payment seeks to address the barriers and cliff-edges in our current Jobseeker’s Allowance payment, which could disincentivise people from increasing their working hours.
A public consultation on the Working Age Payment concluded on June 12th. Feedback from the consultation will inform next steps in the consideration of this potential payment.
I thrust this clarify the matter for the Deputy.