In response to our call to the INOU’s Individual Members for articles on their personal experience of unemployment the following piece was sent to us.
At the end of December 2018 my therapy business unfortunately had to close. I had been told by Citizens Information that if my business ever needed to close that I would need to have worked a week and put up a full contribution, so 6 months before it closed I did as instructed.
Then on 3rd January 2019 I went to my local Social Welfare Office (30 miles round trip) to hopefully sign on for credits, and hopefully get back working again. My local office was unsure if I could sign on and said to come back again. I had about 4 visits, but still could not get a definite answer regarding my position. Then I applied online and the head office in Áras Mhic Dhiarmada told me that yes, I could sign on for credits. They told me to go to my local office and sign on. First, I sent all the details to the local office, but they never replied or clarified my position.
Eventually, I was given the forms to sign on for credits and then in April I got a letter from the nearest Intreo Office saying that I could not sign on because there was a gap of over 2 years in my insurance records. I spoke with the Deciding Officer there and asked her if they had any discretionary powers in the decision making process - she said yes, but not in my case. No explanation was given as to what exactly that meant.
I was still trying to get a clear answer concerning my situation and I asked my local Senator to pursue the matter. It took from January 2019 until August 2019 to finally get my position clarified. The Minister’s Office told me that Deciding Officers must go by the rules, and the rules stated that because I had an insurance gap of over 2 years, I could not sign on for credits. The Minister also clarified the position for me that Deciding Officers have no discretionary powers to waive the rules in individual cases. I fully accept what the Minister said and I do not see any reason to challenge it. However, I could have been told all that last January and that would have made life much easier for me, because then I could have looked elsewhere for employment.
As things turned out my wife applied for a non-contributory pension last June and I was included as a qualified adult. The Department processed the claim in a timely and efficient manner and we both received reduced pensions on November 1st. My point is that my experiences of being unemployed would have been much better if I had been given the correct information from the beginning rather than having to bring my situation right up the line to the Office of the Minister.
In summary, I believe each customer should be treated with respect and empathy and helped in every way possible, and simply giving me the correct information in a timely manner was all I expected. The Minister apologised and said they would try to learn from the experience. She said they were bringing out a new Customer Charter in November, and I feel that while a Charter is fine, it needs to be happening on the ground or else nothing is going to improve.
I am now a pensioner and I will not be looking again for work. All my family are working, but I would like to think that if they become unemployed that they will get helped in a meaningful way. However, I am not so sure because I have lost a lot of faith in the system and it’s not fit for purpose based on my personal experiences. I would like to say that I have a friend living in a different part of the country and she found her branch of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection very helpful. All I would like to see happening is that when people need help and answers from the Department that they receive them in a timely and fair manner in all parts of Ireland.