Can i claim state benefits in ireland?

Show all answers

Priscilla Duck

Yes, regardless of whether or not you have an Irish passport you can claim benefits almost as soon as you arrive and you shouldn't feel the slightest shred of guilt for doing so. As an EU citizen, you are entitled to go to any EU member state and work or draw benefits. All EU members pay into a central fund, so if you have paid tax anywhere in the EU this will contribute to your unemployment benefits. Those who call you a leech clearly have a limited understanding of the workings of the welfare state, and Sarah is very ill informed about residency and citizenship regulations. Dole is there for your use, you pay into the system all your life so of course you should make use of it when it suits you. Any EU citizen can go and live in another member state without restriction - can live there as long as they want, vote in EU and local elections, receive state benefits etc. We happen to have a common EU welfare system now, so regardless of where you are you can claim back your contributions. If I were you I would choose a sunnier climate than Ireland's, but that's the only reason not to come here.

You will need to organise your PPS number before you can claim - it's easy enough - but be aware that there is a bit of a backlog with processing new claims here as unemployment is rising fast, so be prepared to support yourself without income for up to 5 weeks, depending on where you go.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie and http://www.fas.ie will have all the information you need.

EDIT________________________
Yes Sarah, you are ill informed.. This from the CI page you yourself linked to:

"Bearing in mind the presumption clause in Section 246 (see Part 4), and the reciprocal arrangements with the UK concerning the Common Travel Area (CTA), for the purpose of this factor periods of residence within the CTA immediately prior to moving to live in Ireland should be treated the same as periods of residence in Ireland. This arrangement applies only to UK citizens and EEA nationals who had retained their centre of interest within the Common Travel Area".

Thus, anyone who has been habitually resident in the UK or other EEA countries automatically fulfils the habitual residency requirement for Ireland.

barbara b

you have to wait 6 weeks before you can get dole, which you are probably entitled too. In the meantime you would have to go to a relieving officer who will view your case and might give you assistance.

probably best signing on in UK and getting it transferred to Ireland, which I think is an entitlement for everyone in the EU

slipstreamer

That's a bit rude without having paid anything in.Do it the right way and save up before you move. Don't leach off of the state when there are people in actual need - especially in this economic climate.

Sarah

So you want to come here and claim dole from day one. Why not save some money to keep you for the first 6 months or so first? As a matter of self respect I wouldn't emigrate to somewhere with the intention of claiming their dole.

There is this thing called a "habitual residence" condition that has nothing to do with citizenship, however, because of some agreement with the UK, residence in the UK is counted as residence in Ireland - so even though I disagree with it, I think you can.

There is a time period (9 weeks) where you can't claim if you have voluntarily left a job, I assume that means even if it was in another country.

The current rates per week are â‚¬197.80 for a single adult, plus â‚¬131.30 for a second adult, plus â‚¬24 per child.

Anyway, I'm pretty much copying this from a page I found on the internet, so you might as well get the rest of the info from that.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/social-welfare-payments/unemployed-people/jobseekers-allowance

Edit:
OK, just to expand on the Habitual Residence requirement (since I am apparently ill informed), I suggest you read these pages:

From the above link:
To get Jobseeker's Allowance you must:
- Be unemployed
- Be over 18 and under 66 years of age
- Be capable of work
- Be available for and genuinely seeking seek work
- Satisfy the means test
- Satisfy the habitual residence test.

And these 2 about the habitual residence condition:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/irish-social-welfare-system/social-assistance-payments/residency_requirements_for_social_assistance_in_ireland
http://www.welfare.ie/foi/habres.html

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: