The Irish Congress of Trade Union has expressed its concern that the Government has included a “stealth cut” to Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit as part of the Social Welfare Bill.
In last month’s budget a €10 increase to weekly social welfare payments was announced. In the days that followed, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions discovered buried in the details of Budget 2026 that Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit was not included in the general rate increase to core payments, meaning a payment freeze for those with a long history of working and paying PRSI.
Having tried to progress the matter with the three ministers with shared responsibility for the Social Insurance Fund (Calleary, Chambers, Donohoe), the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, Congress has expressed its frustration that the Government did not use the Social Welfare Bill, to be debated in the Dáil today (Wednesday), to make things right.
Congress general secretary Owen Reidy said:
The anger of the trade union movement at this stealth cut to Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit is compounded by a budget that does next to nothing to protect the living standards of the average worker.
Workers are paying extra PRSI to fund this new payment, which is intended to insure them against a collapse in income in the first weeks after losing their job. That was the deal – pay higher PRSI for a higher payout. The average worker paid an extra €52 PRSI this year and will pay an extra €104 next year. But Government is refusing to keep their side of the deal, and has kept the payment stagnant.
The €450 maximum rate of Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit covered 60% of the average wage when it was set in 2022. The rate remains unchanged since then. Meanwhile wages and living costs have risen and all other weekly social welfare payments have increased by €36 per week, rising to €46 from January.
It is never too late to do the right thing. When the Social Welfare Bill comes before the Dáil to give effect to Budget measures, Government must show the same willingness to address this issue for workers as it did for developers when amending the Finance Bill to broaden the scope of the VAT cut on apartments.
Letter to Minister Calleary (Budget 2026)(ICTU)(Oct 2025).pdf
