Vulnerable groups such as pensioners, carers, people with disabilities and addressing child poverty must be prioritised over those on Jobseekers Allowances, the chairperson of the Oireachtas Social Protection Committee has said.
Deputy John Paul O’Shea reiterated his call for Budget 2026 to prioritise the vulnerable and abandon the Budget approach taken during previous years, whereby everyone in receipt of a weekly payment received the same level of increase.
Deputy O’Shea said “Figures obtained from the Department of Social Protection in May 2025 showed that almost 48,000 people have been on Jobseekers Allowance for 12 months or more. It really does beg the question; ‘At a time when businesses are screaming out for workers, why are so many people out of work for months on end?’. I have called on the Minister and the Department to significantly ramp up their activation efforts to get this cohort into the workforce and today, I reiterate this call.
“I believe we need to take a fresh look to the social protection budget this year and ensure we prioritise the groups that need our support the most.
“The blanket increase in social welfare payments across the board is no longer tenable. We all know what is happening on the international front and the various threats to our strong economy. We must protect the economy and jobs while ensuring we build homes and the infrastructure for homes. This Budget will be tight, and choices must be made.
“I’m talking about those people who worked all their lives, our pensioners, and who deserve to be supported with an increase this year. I also believe we need to support our carers who do so much wonderful work in communities across the country and we need to support people who have a disability and are therefore unable to work. We also need to advance on proposals to tackle child poverty.
“I honestly don’t believe people on jobseeker’s payments should be prioritised in the same way as these vulnerable groups.
“The focus should instead be on unlocking the plethora of supports in place to help these people with further education, training and reskilling. We also have programmes like Community Employment and the Work Placement Experience Programme which help people get hands on work experience.”
