Information

Social Welfare Information

Information and Contact Details on Social Welfare, Financial Advice, Emotional Support, Finding Employment and Retraining.

Jobseekers Benefit

You can claim Jobseekers Benefit if you:

• Are unemployed (including working a 3 day week)
• Are under 66 years of age and capable of work
• Are available for and genuinely seeking work

Jobseekers benefit can be paid for a maximum of 12 months to new claimants who have at least 260 paid PRSI contributions. Apply for Job Seekers Benefit at your local Social Welfare Office. For your nearest Social Welfare Office Locall 1890 662244 9.30 a.m. o 5.30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Or visit www.welfare.ie

Jobseekers Allowance (formerly Unemployment Assistance)

You may get Jobseekers Allowance if you don′t qualify for Jobseekers Benefit or if you have used up your entitlement to Jobseekers Benefit (PRSI Contributions). In some cases, if you are only entitled to a reduced rate of Jobseekers Benefit you may be better off on Jobseekers Allowance. Jobseekers Allowance is means tested and your means must be below a certain level to qualify. Apply for Jobseekers Allowance at your local Social Welfare Office.

Supplementary Welfare Allowance

If you have little or no income, you may be entitled to the basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance. If you have claimed a social welfare benefit or pension but it has not yet been paid and you have no other income, you may qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance while you are awaiting payment. You should apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance to the Community Welfare Officer at your local health centre.

Mortgage Interest Supplement

This is, in principle, available to those getting a social welfare payment or Health Service Executive payment. [However, it appears that very few supplements have been issued.] You will only get assistance with the interest portion of your mortgage repayments. The amount of Mortgage Interest Supplement you are entitled to will be worked out by the Community Welfare Officer at your local Health Centre.

Rent Supplement

Paid to people living in Private Rented accommodation who cannot provide for the costs of their accommodation from their own resources. In general, if your only income is a social welfare or Health Service Executive payment, you will qualify for a rent supplement from your Local Health Centre.

Medical Card

The medical Card allows the holder to receive certain health services free of charge. If you are getting the maximum rate of a means tested payment i.e. jobseekers allowance, you will be granted a medical card without having to undergo a further means test. Medical Card holders are exempt from paying the 2% Health Levy part of social insurance and from the 1% Income Levy introduced in January 2009.

Tax Refunds

Whether working at home or in a foreign country, some people will have overpaid tax and are owed a tax refund. Websites such as www.taxback.com or www.revenue.ie provide complete tax refund services for people working in Ireland.

Claiming Tax Relief

Are you getting all the tax relief you are entitled to? A full list of tax relief is available from www.revenue.ie and include:
Rent Relief
Home Care Relief
Trade Union Fees
Waste Charges
Medical Insurance Fees

Financial Advice

Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS)

MABS has at least one office in every county, where it′s staff offer free, confidential advice to people with debt problems.
MABS Helpline 1890 283 438
Open Monday to Friday 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.
MABS email helpline@mabs.ie
Or alternatively call into your nearest MABS Office, details of which can be found on their website www.mabs.ie

St. Vincent de Paul (SVP)

SVP offer the following discrete assistance to families who find themselves in financial difficulty:
Cash Assistancev Supply Food
Help with Fuel Costs
Education Costs
Holiday Breaks / Outings
Hospital Visits
Clothing & Furniture
SVP email info@svp.ie or call into your nearest branch, details on website www.svp.ie or phone head office at 01 838 6990 who will put you touch with your nearest branch.

Citizens Information.

If you are not sure of your entitlements or legal rights, you can contact the Citizens Information Service. The service is free, confidential and independent. Lo-Call 1890 777 121 or see the website www.citizensinformation.ie

Emotional Help

Samaritans

The Samaritans are encouraging people to actively see help if they feel debt and financial worries are becoming a problem and are starting to feel insurmountable. Remember you are not alone. Contact the Samaritans at Lo-Call 1850 60 90 90 for round the clock confidential emotional support if you feel you cannot share your problems with family, friends or your GP. If you cannot talk about your problems and would prefer to write them down email jo@samaritans.org. Alternatively write to your local branch of the Samaritans, a list of which can be found on www.samaritans.org If a person is worried about someone else you can ask the Samaritans to contact them.

Aware

This helpline offers a listening ear to people who may be distressed or worried or just someone to talk to. A person can also call the helpline if they are worried about someone who may be depressed or for information about depression. The Aware Lo-Call helpline 1980 303 302. The Aware Helpline is open seven days a week from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. from Thursday to Sunday the Helpline remains open until 1.00 a.m.

Looking for a job

FÁS

People looking for a job can start with FÁS Jobs Ireland. This is an online marketplace where Jobseekers and Employers can find information and profiles about prospective jobs and staff in Ireland and across Europe. FÁS Jobs Ireland also provides a database of Training Courses to suit all needs. FÁS Jobs Ireland can be accessed easily and in a number of ways at www.fas.ie, at special touch screen (WATIS) kiosks in FÁS offices or via freephone on 1800 611 116.

Local Employment Service (LES)

There are Local Employment Services in most areas operated by the area Partnership Company to provide employment assistance to those most disadvantaged. They are mainly operated through the Local Area Partnership Companies by way of contract from FÁS. They provide one to one guidance and assistance to unemployed persons and can often channel them to local employment opportunities. They operate through a network of offices and outreach centres located in 25 designated disadvantaged areas. The contact details can be found at www.fas.ie

Recruitment Agencies

Recruitment Agencies will place candidates (jobseeker) in positions advertised by their clients (employers). Check out recruitment websites daily. The following websites may help you find work:
www.irishjobs.ie
www.monster.ie
www.jobs.ie
www.recruitireland.ie

Improving Your Skills and Employability

While waiting to find a job there is great benefit in improving your skills and employability. This can be done by signing up for full or part-time education or training programmes. FÁS have trebled the number of training places to be made available in 2009. See www.fas.ie for details.
The regional Institutes of Technology, Universities and V.E.C.′s also offer relevant education programmes.

Home Insulation Scheme

Registration

To Register your interest, please call 1850 927000 or e-mail hes@sei.ie
The Home Insulation scheme has been announced now in order to allow interested contractors to apply for registration. Once there are sufficient registered contractors available to the scheme, there will be a further announcement regarding householder applications.
If you wish to register your interest in the scheme and be contacted when it opens for applications, then simply click hes@sei.ie or phone 1850 927000

Who can avail of the scheme?

It is a National scheme and therefore all homeowners may apply. Landlords and owners of multiple properties may also apply, however they must submit a separate application form for each property.

Can I apply if I was part of the HES Pilot scheme?

Homeowners, who received a grant payment through the earlier HES Pilot scheme may apply for measures not included in any such payments.

What type of work can I get a grant for?

Grants will be provided to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements in the following area:

• Roof Insulation
• Wall Insulation - this includes either cavity wall, internal dry lining or external insulation
• Replacement High Efficiency (> 90%) Gas or Oil fired Boilers with Heating Controls Upgrade*
• Heating Controls Upgrade*
• Building Energy Rating (BER) - you can get a grant for a BER if one is done before and after the works are completed

* Minimum requirement of: 2 zones (space and water) with 7 day programmer (time and temperature) control and boiler interlock, time and temperature control of electric immersion heater and either 1 more zone control or 3 TRV′s.

How much are the grants?

Grants are fixed for each type of measure as indicated in the table below. Grant approval must be in place before any purchase of materials or commencement of measures undertaken. Grants are paid after the measures are completed and the contractor has been paid by the homeowner. In the instance where the cost of the work (vat inclusive) is less than the fixed grant amount, the actual cost will be reimbursed.

Measure	Category	Grant*
Roof	Roof Insulation	€250
Wall	Cavity wall insulation	€400
	Internal Wall Dry-Lining	€2,500
	External wall insulation	€4,000
Heating	High Efficiency Gas or Oil fired Boiler with Heating	€700
Controls	Controls Upgrade
	Heating Controls Upgrade	€500
BER Assessment	A Before works and an After works BER assessment	€200

* Please note that while you are entitled to apply for each Measure there is a minimum requirement that the grant amount in the first application must be €500 or greater. The BER grant cannot form part of this €500 amount.

Who can do the work?

In accordance with the scheme′s Terms and Conditions, all works must be completed by a contractor from SEI′s Registered List, which will be published when the scheme opens for homeowner applications. If undertaking a BER, these must be completed by a registered BER assessor. A list of registered assessors is available on the SEI website www.sei.ie/BER

How do I apply?

The scheme has been announced now in order to allow interested contractors to apply for registration. Once there are sufficient registered contractors available to the scheme, there will be a further announcement regarding householder applications. So, at the present moment the scheme is not open for applications from homeowners. Please keep a close eye out for future notices and check back regularly to ensure you are aware of when the scheme opens for applications. If you wish to register your interest in the scheme and be contacted when it opens for applications, then simply click hes@sei.ie or phone 1850 927000 In the meantime, you could be looking around your house to identify areas which could improve your energy efficiency, see the Self Home Survey which is downloadable in PDF format. We also have some guides available to download offering information on the measures covered under the scheme as well as questions you can ask your installer/supplier. You may also like to engage a Building Energy Rating (BER) assessor to perform an energy rating of your home with an accompanying Advisory Report, which will help identify areas that could improve your level of comfort along with reducing future heating bills.

When can I get the work done?

In accordance with the scheme′s Terms and Conditions, Grant Approval must be in place prior to any purchase of materials or commencement of works is undertaken. Since the scheme is not currently open for application you should not undertake any works yet. If you have already done so, then unfortunately you will not be eligible for a grant.

However, the Before BER can be done ahead of Grant Approval and could prove beneficial for homeowners who are uncertain about their options or what to get done first.