Some 6,500 on jobseeker’s allowance for decade or more at cost of €800 million

Some 6,500 people have been in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance for a decade or more, at a cost of about €800 million, according to figures from the Department of Social Protection. The figures were provided by the department to Aontú over the summer. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show there were 151,000 unemployed people aged between 15 and 74 years in the second quarter of this year, with the unemployment rate standing at 4.8 per cent as of last month. The CSO’s Labour First survey showed there were 38,900 people defined as long-term employed (unemployed for 12 months or longer), an increase of 7,200 people over the year. READ MOREAlmost three-quarters of unemployed people were in short-term unemployment of less than one year. Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said on Saturday that he wants to see “penalties” for people on social welfare who refuse to seek employment. Speaking at the Fine Gael ardfheis in Cork, the Tánaiste said: “The dole is a safety net, not a way of life.”He added: “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.”His comments have drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition.Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik described the comments as “shocking” and said Harris was “looking for a scapegoat”.Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow John Brady said the Tánaiste was “punching down” and claimed that Fine Gael “has always looked after the privileged, the well-off in society”.People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy accused Harris and the Government of “performative cruelty” and of enriching the powerful while blaming the powerless.Speaking on RTÉ on Sunday, Harris denied he was punching down on a vulnerable group of long-term unemployed people with his comments, saying that increasing the financial penalty for those who do not engage with employment services was “what taxpayers across this country expect us to do”.Harris countered that former Labour Party leader and minister for social protection Joan Burton had cut benefits for jobless people who refused work or training offers.In this year’s budget, penalties for those who do not engage with employment services were increased by €10 to €100. Some 11,000 people had penalties imposed on them last year.