Minister for Social Protection distances himself from Tánaiste’s dole remarks

Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary has distanced himself from remarks by Tánaiste Simon Harris that “the dole is a safety net, not a way of life”.

At the Fine Gael ardfheis in Cork, Harris told delegates that “at a time of full employment, it is simply not acceptable for any person to remain on the live register year after year after year”.

He called for “penalties” for people on social welfare who refused to seek employment.

[ Simon Harris denies ‘punching down’ after promising penalties for long-term unemployedOpens in new window ]

Speaking in the Dáil, Calleary said: “I do not believe that being on the dole is a way of life. And I do not believe that it is one of the biggest issues facing us.”

Speaking as he introduced the Social Welfare Bill, the Minister said: “The live register is not a stop. It is a flow ... some 58,800 have either entered or exited the long-term unemployment register over the past 12 months.”

He added that the department’s role is to support those without a job to “break out of unemployment”.

The legislation gives effect to the provisions of Budget 2027, including the €10 a week increase in core social welfare benefits, and it introduces the €500 cost-of-disability payment.

The Minister also announced the “Christmas bonus” or double social welfare benefit would be paid in the week starting December 1^st.

Jobseekers who refuse to engage with mandatory “activation” services lose €90 a week in social welfare payments, which will increase by €10 to €100 in the Social Welfare Bill.

Calleary said a reduced rate “is very much the final step in a process to encourage a jobseeker to avail of the employment supports on offer. Once a jobseeker resumes engagement, the reduced rate is lifted immediately. This week the number of people who’ve been on the live register for a year or more is at its lowest level in two years at around 52,300 of which 46,400 will receive a payment.”

Telling the Dáil he did not believe being on the dole is a way of life, Calleary said “rights and responsibilities” were involved.

Why has Simon Harris promised penalties for the long-term unemployed?

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The unemployed have the right to income support from the State, “but also have a responsibility to seek employment and to engage with the employment services that are offered by the State”.

He also said his department is finalising the successor to the Pathways to Work strategy, due for publication “in the coming weeks”, following a public consultation process that received 430 submissions.

The new strategy “will strengthen efforts to support those who are long-term unemployed and face barriers to enter the labour market”.

Asked if Harris had informed him of his proposals, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “Every party is entitled to put forward ideas and proposals”, but the programme for government “is the guiding star of Government decisions”.

[ Letters: Penalising people for circumstances rooted in economic failures unjustOpens in new window ]

People who are out of work for more than a year need help and it is “an obligation to work with people” to enable them to secure employment, he said.

Sinn Féin social protection spokeswoman Louise O’Reilly said she was “happy to hear your words distancing yourself” from the Tánaiste’s comments.

“It is not unusual to hear the Fine Gael leader or indeed members of Government punch down,” she said.

The reasons for unemployment were complicated and should not be “reduced to a single pathetic soundbite just to get a cheer and a guffaw”.