Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2026
448. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of jobseeker's payments who have been continuously in receipt of such payments for more than two years, more than four years, more than six years, more than eight years and more than ten years, in tabular form. [52907/26]
View answer449. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated annual Exchequer cost associated with persons who have been in receipt of jobseeker's payments for more than two years; more than four years; more than six years; more than eight years; and more than ten years, in the most recent year for which figures are available. [52908/26]
View answer451. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of non-Irish nationals currently in receipt of jobseeker's payments who have been continuously in receipt of such payments for more than two years; more than four years; more than six years; more than eight years; and more than ten years, in tabular form, where data is available by nationality. [52910/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 448, 449 and 451 together.
Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit are paid for a maximum of 9 months, so there are no recipients for these schemes with a duration longer than 9 months.
The total expenditure for Jobseeker's Allowance for 2025 was €1.75 billion. Expenditure is recorded at the scheme level, not the individual level, and it is not possible to accurately attribute expenditure to attribute expenditure to characteristics such as claim duration.
As of the 30 June 2026, the total number of recipients of Jobseeker's Allowance who have been in receipt of a Jobseeker's Allowance payment for more than a given duration is shown in the table below.
|
Claim Duration |
Recipients |
|
2 years or more |
38,893 |
|
4 years or more |
21,291 |
|
6 years or more |
13,915 |
|
8 years or more |
9,156 |
|
10 years or more |
6,329 |
As of the 30 June 2026, the number of non-Irish nationals who have been in receipt of a Jobseeker's Allowance payment for more than a given duration is shown in the table below.
|
Claim Duration |
Non-Irish national recipients |
|
2 years or more |
9,796 |
|
4 years or more |
3,819 |
|
6 years or more |
1,975 |
|
8 years or more |
1,205 |
|
10 years or more |
719 |
