Welfare forms now available online for Jobseekers

I am pleased to announce that application forms for Jobseekers Benefit and Jobseekers Allowance are available for the first time to download from the Department of Social and Family Affairs website www.welfare.ie, by clicking on the “Recently Unemployed?” link.

This will mean that people who are making a repeat claim (i.e. renewing a claim that they had initially made within the past two years) can now download and complete the UP 6 form.  All other people can download and complete the UP1 form before going to their Social Welfare Office. 

Minister for Social & Family Affairs Mary Hanafin said this development “was part of a series of service improvement measures being brought in to help speed up the process for those who have lost their jobs or have been put on reduced working hours.  Having the forms available online means that one stage of the application process is taken out for men and women seeking their entitlements.  There is also a great deal of information on the welfare website which means that people can take time to read the forms and understand what’s required  before making their claim.

Being able to have the forms filled out in advance of arriving in the social welfare office and having the appropriate documents, such as P45 and photographic ID such as driver’s licence or passport, will help both the jobseeker and the offices processing claims.”

Minister Hanafin said that “in the last three months of 2008 staff in Social Welfare offices throughout the country processed 155,000 claims – that was an increase of 74% on the same period in the previous year. All our staff are very conscious of the pressures that members of the public are under when coming into the offices to claim jobseekers payments. 

To further help speed up processing claims, four Central Decisions Units are also being set up in Dublin city centre, Sligo, Finglas and Carrick-on-Shannon, each of which will have 10 staff processing and deciding on claims.  They will be able to process claims from offices in various regions which are experiencing an increased claimload and backlogs in processing.

We are looking at implementing a range of initiatives and are continually reviewing our claims processing system to help us deal with the unprecedented increase in claims for jobseekers payments.”