Living on unemployment benefit today

A cut of 4% in social welfare payments has been introduced in Budget 2011. Although there has been a 4,200 decline in the Live Register, there are still 438,800 people on welfare according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Politico is running a series of interviews with people in Ireland living on the verge of poverty who will be plunged deeper into poverty now that their allowances will be cut further. This fourth interview in the series focuses on a woman in her 30s on the unemployment benefit. [Interview conducted by the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), edited by Christina Finn of Politico]

The Department of Social Protection will shave €860 million off its spending in 2011 and as part of that the Jobseeker's payment is to be reduced by 4%. The current Jobseeker's payment stands at €196 per week but is to be reduced by €8.

Laura lost her job in 2006 after the company she worked for was forced to downsize. Having previously worked in sales she found it difficult to find another job and decided to return to education. She completed a 'start up your own business' course and continued on to third level education in arts policy and practice. She graduated with a higher diploma in 2009 and again has found herself unemployed.

While she says she is trying to reserve judgement on whether or not she regrets going back to college she comments, "I went back to university last year, to help me get better employment, but as a result - and ironically - I've ended up experiencing poverty as a knock-on effect of that."

However Laura says that she is not ready to throw in the towel just yet saying, "I think higher education always pays off in the end."

Since leaving college Laura has been in a downward spirial she said. "I came out with absolutely no money. If you go to college and you're a student then you're broke. I was living in rented accommodation and the landlady wasn't willing to sign for rent receipts so that took another big chunk out of what little money that I had. As a result I ended up totally broke."

Accessing information and getting support from organisations was also a difficulty. Laura found herself going around in circles and found it extremely frustrating. "I can't say that anyone has been impolite or not accommodating but the services that exist are not really helpful. They send you around in circles. I've found it really frustrating going from place to place looking for essentially the same information."

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) says that the employment and related services need to understand the qualifications unemployed people already have and explore how they progress further. One recommendation is that FÁS could be re-orientated as a training facilitator as opposed to provider and used to fund individuals taking up professionally run training courses.

"I couldn't get concise information in any one place, it was just impossible. I got advice on where to go, what to ask for and what cut-off points were and so on. I wasn't supplied with any of that information. FAS did help me in terms of my future direction and I had a chat with somebody who was very, very good. Unfortunately though when I'd finished with that person it was like 'Okay well don't call us we'll call you'. They put me on a list, I went on in the second week of January and I haven't heard anything since."

Laura said she hoped the government would arrest the problem of unemployment as soon as possible and thinks that perhaps internships for the newly unemployed may be a good plan. "Perhaps they could offer structured internships. If they invested just enough to keep people in the system, and keep them working then that will generate more employment in the long term," she said.

The INOU is calling for the government to ensure that services do all they can to make work placements and work experience available to the unemployed. "However, work placements must be relevant to the person's needs and must not be used to replace paid jobs."

Budget 2011 has announced an increase of 15,000 placements on the work placement scheme in both the public and private sectors.

Times are tough for Laura who has to live day to day, just hoping that nothing will happen that will put her over the edge. "A lot of my energies, instead of really going out there and looking for work I think a lot of my energies were plugged into day to day survival. I think that's where the problem lies. It has to be all plain sailing because if something happens that means you need a financial safety net, well I don't have that."

"I can live frugally but it has to be very frugally. I can buy cheap food, shop in cheaper shops, in second hand stores. You scrape by but it's hand to mouth. If anything happens you're done for."

She said she also has been forced to borrow money in order to get by. "I borrowed from everybody I could possible borrow from. I feel bad borrowing more from my family because I feel that they've supported me enough and then my friends, a lot of them aren't in the best situation themselves. I also don't know when I can pay them back."

Now with even more cuts to the unemployment benefit, life will be even tighter. "The cuts took a big chunk out of my income. Eight or ten euro isn't a lot when you have a wage but eight or ten euro is food for a day. I mean it's basics and alright it might be a cup of coffee with friends or maybe two drinks if you're lucky. I know some people might say that's not necessary to live but it is necessary to have social interactions; that's living as well. It's those tiny little extras they really do make the difference. They keep your spirits up and that's very important in this day and age."

Commenting on Budget 2011, the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) has said that these cuts will force even more people into poverty. "All of these measures have a direct impact on the most vulnerable which the Government has stated it is committed to protecting."