Basic unemployment pay in Ireland is just over €200 per week - or c. 3 times the UK rate. This rises substantially for each dependent child and rent allowances may also be payable.  This has led to allegations of "welfare tourism" by Northern Ireland residents and by eastern European migrant workers who have lost their jobs here but who continue to "sign on" even if now resident in eastern Europe again - with anecdotal stories of people flying in on Ryanair once a month to sign on.  There is no hard data to substantiate this as far as I am aware, although the Dept. of Social Welfare do occasionally  report substantial savings from clamping down on welfare fraud with border checkpoints etc.

Apart from the obvious humanitarian benefit, higher social welfare rates have helped to sustain consumer expenditure and the local economy and are probably also a factor in the fact that social unrest hasn't been more widespread in response to the doubling/tripling of unemployment rates.  Less well off people spend a greater proportion of their income on locally produced goods and services and so this is a much more efficient (as well as progressive) form of economic stimulus than tax cuts for the better off would be.

The huge pressure on public expenditure (with €5 Billion in cuts planned) will also put pressure on unemployment benefits rates - especial with inflation running at -5% - but politically it will be almost impossible to cut benefits at a time when we are considering bailing out the banks to the tune of up to €90 Billion.

However the Government may well fall and the current fiscal position is unsustainable, so there are going to be huge pressures and battles ahead...


notes from no w here