The dole is too much!!

97i9y3941

well they should least review the dole situation,theres people that do be on it for years and never get checked or anyone to review and go how come this person isnt worked last couple of years,as for med cards for travellers,they are entitled to it because they have "no income",dont see much point why criminals get the dole,havent heard of a criminal going jaysus i better give up the drug dealing and the house and live off the dole

Ross_Mahon

Johnny Volume wrote: »

Why don't you work a full week and see what you come out with then?

I have college and other things to do

zilog_jones

Septic Leper wrote: »

Lads thats not the real problem .Its getting let go going back to your home country and then claiming the IRISH dole along with childrens allowence and living like kings,no wonder were another billion indept every week.Irelands arse is hemoraging money:rolleyes:

You have to go to the post office every week to collect your dole now - they don't do direct debits any more.

97i9y3941

they finally cracked down on the childrens thing too,they have to prove that their kids reside in the country itself if they are going to claim it

rainbow kirby

zilog_jones wrote: »

You have to go to the post office every week to collect your dole now - they don't do direct debits any more.

I was on the dole over the summer for the few weeks between moving back home and going back to college (I was working in Leixlip beforehand, and couldn't do the commute once I moved back to Firhouse, because I don't drive). The guy who runs our post office reserves a special kind of rudeness for anyone who comes in to collect benefits, including openly insulting unemployed people and single parents when people are queuing.

I have a horrible feeling that I'm going to end up on the dole again after I finish college in May, it's an absolutely horrible time to be re-entering the workforce. There's very little going for someone with a degree in computer science at the moment, unfortunately.

jaffa20

LOLCats

road_2_damascus

pf85 wrote: »

The dole in the north is only around £50 a week (£48 I think)... I no there are gennuine people out there trying to get jobs and cant with the current climate but I think 200euro a week is too much and doesnt encourage some people to get jobs.

There is a flood of benefit tourists coming out of the North to sign on in the south. They are being briefed by SF and know every angle and entitlement. New legislation is currently being written up to have this trend abolished. The party will soon be over

Tar.Aldarion

In some countries it's 80% of your previous wage, that would be sick.

jester77

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

In some countries it's 80% of your previous wage, that would be sick.

It's something like that here. I was made redundant last year and took a month off to go on holidays. I got 66% of my normal wage for the month off, would be more if I was married & more again if I had kids.

It's a fairer system as you get out an equivalent to what you put in, the only downside is that there would be no point looking for a job in a bar or mcDonalds as it would be pay a lot less than your dole.

97i9y3941

dont think people realise,but thats how countries like china have done so well in keeping companies,it was down to the min wage,over the years we asked for more and more,then eventually we priced ourselfs out of the job

RoosterIllusion

seamus wrote: »

If you think that sleeping, eating and smoking is a good way to spend your day, and living in a ****ty part of the city in a ****ty place and only having €200/week to spend is the definition of "great living", then off you go.

Personally, actually filling my day with stuff is far more rewarding. I've done the "no job" bit - getting up at midday and cooking burger and chips, then watching TV till 8pm. It gets old after a week and you spend your entire day in mind-numbing boredom.

But yes, I do think the dole is too much. It should be a series of "allowances", where the person presents receipts for their rent, medical bills and any other fixed costs, and the government looks after that. Then they get a small subsistence, say €100/week for food and clothing. Giving people a wad of cash to blow on whatever they like only serves to compound the problem in cases where the person is unemployed by choice.

Requires organisation and forward thinking - marked as impossible.

deadhead13

Fred83 wrote: »

dont think people realise,but thats how countries like china have done so well in keeping companies,it was down to the min wage,over the years we asked for more and more,then eventually we priced ourselfs out of the job

The mess were in, has absolutely nothing to do with the minimum wage. It is the result of the naked greed and stupidity of the financial and banking systems. But lets penalise the worst off in society anyway, the bastards.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

ntlbell wrote: »

What I can't understand is if you're on job seekers are available and ready to work but are on the dole you should be put to work for your dole.

There's always a school that needs work volunteering in A&E even if it's just making the tea and toast, road sweeping whatever the case maybe

it should be mandatory that you put X amount of hours and the other X amount of hours is used for job seeking and must be clocked in somewhere.

be it your local exchange, job center or obair center.

Monthly proof of applications for jobs + refusal letters etc

People who genuinely want to find work will find it and be off the system and those who don't will spend their days cleaning mount joy toilets or something similar...

just reducing the amount they get is not really an option

Most pay for their DOLE in advance, why should we not get it, why should we have to work when we are getting it? I worked and paid tax for years. Being made work for the dole. That's called a job.

Irishcrx wrote: »

Now hang on a second, I didn't say that it was too high for some people. I'm saying the system is not handled right. Ok, say I loose my job tomorrow and I've been working all my life I have a mortgage to pay, car loan, bills etc etc and all I'll get is 200 a month...Hardly enough I'll loose my house in no time and end up in big financial trouble.

Now take Joe soap never worked a day in his life and is renting a room or house, gets his rent paid and all his benefits. 200 a week generally is enough for these people, to get there hash/weed and cans everyday.

What I am saying is some people need more and others need less and it's not one bit fair on the people who are genuinely struggling to keep their homes and find work.

So people with homes and cars and all that should get more? Someone with nothing should get less? Discrimination? I think so. If you have a mortgage, especially in this climate, you should opt for PPP, payment protection plan.

Also, try not to generalise about joe soap smoking weed and drinking beer every day. It's not nice Since signing on, I rarely do anything that costs me money, it sucks. 200 a week is ok, I am happy with it. It will get you bye and your not going to die. You won't be comfortable, or have much of a life. but it's something. For some it is not enough, as their rent may be higher etc etc.

Jessie2009

You should try living on it if you think it's too much!!!!:mad:

Rent, food, clothes and essentials don't come cheap in this country!!

I'm a single mother.... yes I see we have been slated by many on this thread!!! Put in a box as being people who sponge off our society!! Well we are not all like that!!!!!!!! I have recently been made redundant, I have never claimed anything before.... too proud I guess!!

Been working for the last 6 years since I left college (except for the six months I was on maternity leave) Its been 8 weeks since I first went into the social welfare office (where I was made feel like ****, firstly because I was in there and secondly because I am a single mother.....) and I still haven't received a penny!!:eek:

I can tell you it is not all fun and games being out of work.... I have been looking for work everywhere.... I would do any sort of work to get out of this mundane life I am leading at the minute!

97i9y3941

dole is backlogged at moment really,they could take some people out of the HSE and put them into dole offices,the staff shoundnt give any of this im too important or be retrained or stuff bull****,just get straight into it

fryup

is the dole too much?

Well it depends on a persons personal circumstances...if you're married with kids paying off a mortgage or rent watching every penny and life is difficult then its deserved.

But if you're a single person living at home with your folks, or living in a flat gettin your rent paid for....then life is cushty...and its these people who should be targeted.

I think with every month a single fit healthy person is unemployed then their dole should be reduced by 10%.

Crackerspray

fryup wrote: »

is the dole too much?
I think with every month a single fit healthy person is unemployed then their dole should be reduced by 10%.

I'm unmarried, fit & healthy, Iv applied for numerous jobs over the past few months, even ones I probably had no chance of getting as I was under qualified! Iv also applied in shops, bars, hotels, call centers etc. where Im over-qualified and still there's no response- its great when you have a job that's secure and you can throw around such statements, I wish I was that lucky!

SURE there are the bums who don't want anything but "free money" but Im an honest average guy who has put a lot of effort into looking for a job and is getting turned back at every door. Would love to swap positions with some of you making similar statements and see how you like it!

Also: E204 sounds like a lot of money to give away, I have to move out of my apartment in two weeks as I can no longer afford the rent, I can just about pay my bills and have had to cut back to cereal twice a day and a ****ty dinner..... in this day and age E204 doesn't go that far!

97i9y3941

the single mothers where targetted today in the irish sunday indo,bascially just highlighting we know some are claming to be single but living with a partner and getting a house paid by council and having the lastest gear/cars.

jester77

Fred83 wrote: »

the single mothers where targetted today in the irish sunday indo,bascially just highlighting we know some are claming to be single but living with a partner and getting a house paid by council and having the lastest gear/cars.

Not targeting the genuine single mothers but they have a point. I know a lot of young mothers who are claiming they are single but in reality are living with their partners and were never single. The system is too open to abuse.

hayyman

How can anyone say the dole is too much.Anyone who lost there job and went from a good wage to 200 a week wouldn't be saying that but it is open to abuse and not just by people saying they are single parents, there's more than them abusing the system

97i9y3941

i heard this and well belive it,some of the people pissed off on dole,the builders/plasters/carpenters would be frustrated about it now as some where making €1000 a week in their heyday

ScissorPaperRock

I think people receiving the dole should only receive it on the condition that they work for it. Like some sort of initiative where a company needs labour, and they could outsource to those receiving the dole, and pay fees to the government.

Acacia

I know some family members were on the dole for awhile in the 80's. They absolutely hated it, but , hey, it got them through until they found a job. Since we're facing similar circumstances now, I wouldn't judge anyone who goes on a the dole as being a 'waster'. As for getting too much money- I'm not sure. I certainly wouldn't fancy trying to live on 200 euros a week. It depends on the individual circumstances, I suppose.

paddylishious

the dole is too much for the dossers who don't care about working as the govt pay there rent,etc. I lost my job 8weeks ago and have tried everything to get another job since that day, last week I had to go and look for the dole for the first time in my life but only because theres nothing out there, I was in carsales and hope to get any job asap so I can get off the dole, so for me 200 per week is a joke but it'll have to do and I'm greatful to have some money so I can pay my bills, I just hate looking at the wasters who don't give a dame, and as some else posted yes there should be a 10% decreese in the payment if you don't actively look for work it'll stop the spungers.

ntlbell

hayyman wrote: »

How can anyone say the dole is too much.Anyone who lost there job and went from a good wage to 200 a week wouldn't be saying that but it is open to abuse and not just by people saying they are single parents, there's more than them abusing the system

it doesn't matter what your previous wage was.

the dole is not a salary replacement scheme

the money is there to assist you while your seeking employment it's not there so you can continue with the lifestyle you were previously living so what you earned before is irrelevant and has no baring on the dole been too much or not enough to live on.

Johnny Volume

paddylishious wrote: »

...I had to go and look for the dole for the first time in my life but only because theres nothing out there.

What exactly is your point?? You're branding people on the dole dossers, yet you now find yourself on the dole because you can't find any work.
I would say the vast majority of people claiming dole are in a similar poistion to yourself, looking and hoping to find work. There's always going to be a small minority of people who abuse the system but on a whole I would say most people on the dole would rather be working right now. Instead of turning on each other like a bunch of rabid dogs, why not direct your frustration at the people who have gotten the country into the mess it now faces, primarily the current Govt.

Thoie

A few points for those who have never had to sign on.

Fás is pretty useless to anyone with a professional qualification/background. The only course they could offer me was one that I'd actually helped write and develop.
When I initially lost my job, I went into Fás within the first few days to register. They refused to register me on the basis that I didn't have a letter from the Social Welfare suggesting that I do so, and said there was no point until the SW insisted... but that I was free to come in any time and browse their job ads (which are also on their website). They offer a number of online courses free to people receiving SW, however there are no exams/qualifications associated with these, so while they're interesting, they won't specifically help you find a job.

Like many of you, I also thought "I'm a hard worker, I don't give a feck about pride, and will take any job that's going". Which was fine, up until the point I realised that no-one would give me the jobs in McDonalds, or petrol stations, or office cleaning etc. Most places never bothered replying (despite follow up phone calls, etc.). The most honest guy told me that I'd be great at the job, but that he wasn't going to hire me as he knew I'd be bored, and I'd be gone after a few months as soon as I found something back in my normal line of work. So just because you're willing to get down and scrub floors doesn't mean that anyone is willing to pay you to do so.

I think with every month a single fit healthy person is unemployed then their dole should be reduced by 10%.

Someone should be penalised for not having a partner? Being unemployed can be emotionally difficult even if you have a partner to share things with. If you have a partner, at least there are two people to share the heating bills etc.

PRSI stands for Pay Related Social Insurance. Most of us have been paying this insurance our entire adult lives - now some people are having to call in that insurance. Would you pay car insurance, but then feel too awkward to claim if your car was stolen? In Ireland, you pay in a percentage of your salary, and everyone gets the same insurance payout. In other countries you pay in a percentage of your salary, but get a percentage back if you lose your job. People with high paying jobs prefer the latter method, people with lower paying jobs prefer the former. Neither is more "right" than the other.

€200 a week may seem like a lot to a young person with few responsibilities/overheads. Even with additional benefits/payments, it doesn't go very far once you've reached a certain stage in life. You won't starve, but replacing a pair of €3.99 gloves suddenly takes some thought.

97i9y3941

begs to question,is a fas/fetac certifcation better than a college cert?

CamperMan

Fred83 wrote: »

i heard this and well belive it,some of the people pissed off on dole,the builders/plasters/carpenters would be frustrated about it now as some where making €1000 a week in their heyday

I can guarantee that the people in the trades you mention will be drawing the dole and doing the odd job cash in hand, they will probably be better off now than before...

I know one guy that gets all the dole perks, has done for many many years, works cash in hand in a full time job and does the odd job in the evening... he is raking it in, I reckon he is on well over €1000 a week....

Thoie

Fred83 wrote: »

begs to question,is a fas/fetac certifcation better than a college cert?

It really depends on what kind of college certification you're talking about - take a look at the Fetac system here. If Fetac certification is a result of a Fás course, it's generally levels 1-3, though there are some exceptions. I haven't seen any Fás offered course above a 5.


Edit: An easier to read version of the NFQ diagram is here: http://www.nfq.ie/nfq/en/public_resources/images/6FAN.jpg