dole and courses for unemployed

sushmita

Hi all,

I've been living and working in Ireland for 16 years.
I am being put on a Performance improvement plan in my current company and I have very little hope to succeed.
In the worst scenario I'd like to be prepared.
Is there a long wait for the dole?
Do they give some support for rent or heating?
Are there any free courses for unemployed?
Thank you.

sierra117x

If you have been working for the last few years and your average weekly wage was above 300 euro in 2015 then you more than likely qualify for jobseekers benefit. waiting times vary from office to office and even depending on time of the year (for example large numbers of teachers signing on in the last couple of months) but in general JB claims are quite straight forward. if your at a desk interview and not out in a branch office (which are for more rural locations) theres absolutely no reason your claim shouldnt be done in front of you presuming the staff member is competent and you have all your documentation in order.

in the event you are let go you should proceed to your local intreo office to advise them you have been let go. most places work by appointments so at that stage they should give you an app present you with documentation to fill out as well as requesting a list of documentation such as ID p45 etc. If you receive redundancy depending on the amount you may face a suspension period if you are under a certain age. your local office should be able to advise you further on this.

even if you dont have these documents to hand you should still make your application straight away and time will be given to sort out the docs. theres also normally things like emails/letters which could be accepted in the place of a p45

as for further education you have a number of options. theres no limit for waiting time when it comes to part time education options and springboard etc

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/back_to_education/part_time_education_option.html

https://springboardcourses.ie/

you can also consider back to education
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/back_to_education/back_to_education_allowance.html

although as you can see theres usually a time signing on requirement meaning you may not be able to take up that option straight away.

as for rent and heat theres no payments towards bills however there is the HAP scheme which i learned today on another thread has taken over from rent allowance

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/housing_assistance_payment.html

ive never had any dealings with rent or hap so i cant help much there but i suggest you go and ask anywhere and everywhere you can think of (local office, citizens info etc) to make sure you apply for everything and anything you can. usually "i wasnt aware i qualified etc or a mate told me not to" wont cut it and you could miss out on an entitlement.

Hopefully its a case your job does hold onto you so best of luck with that