Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2026
453. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of jobseeker's payments who are Irish citizens, EU citizens excluding Irish citizens and non-EU nationals; and the associated annual cost in each category, in the most recent year for which figures are available. [52912/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraNationality breakdowns are published on a quarterly and annual basis. The Quarterly Statistical Report is a count of unique persons who received at least one payment in the given quarter. The most recent report refers to Q1 2026; the Q2 report is scheduled for publication in August. The Annual Statistics Report is a count of all persons on 31st December with an Awarded and Paying claim on that date. The 2025 Annual Statistics Report was published in July, and nationality breakdowns are published in table B4. An archive of the Annual Reports is also available on gov.ie.
These statistics are all published through the statistics landing page, gov.ie/dsp/statistics. Expenditure is recorded at the scheme level, not the individual level, and it is not possible to accurately attribute expenditure to individual level characteristics such as nationality. Excerpts from the 2025 Annual Statistics Report are provided in the tables below.
Table B4 - Recipients by Broad Nationality Group
|
Scheme |
Irish nationals |
EU13 |
EU 15-27 |
United Kingdom |
Other nationals |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
73,487 |
1,545 |
9,051 |
3,768 |
19,280 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance Transition |
11,638 |
262 |
2,395 |
446 |
3,537 |
|
Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit |
24,289 |
1,202 |
3,414 |
875 |
2,140 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
14,472 |
341 |
1,300 |
585 |
549 |
|
Of which |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jobseeker's Benefit Self Employed |
514 |
19 |
56 |
29 |
20 |
|
Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds |
3,945 |
35 |
61 |
154 |
29 |
|
Short Time Work Support |
525 |
14 |
75 |
29 |
27 |
Table D1 - Estimated Expenditure (€m)
|
Scheme |
Amount |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance* |
1,752 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit^ |
402 |
|
Pay-Related Jobseeker's Benefit |
297 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit Self Employed |
10 |
* Jobseeker's Allowance expenditure includes expenditure on Jobseeker's Allowance Transitional.
^ Jobseeker's Benefit include expenditure on Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds and Short Time Work Support.
