Ireland removes unemployment benefits from people if they go on holiday abroad

Unemployed people in the Republic of Ireland who have defied public health advice by flying abroad on holiday are having their benefit payments stopped by the government.

Both Garda officers and welfare officials are checking the details of holidaymakers leaving at the airport to check whether they are receiving unemployment benefits.

Ireland’s Department of Social Protection said that “104 cases of pandemic unemployment payment have been stopped as a result of work done in the airports”.

The statement added: “It is not paid to people who go on holidays abroad or when they are going through their 14-day quarantine period.”

Former Irish premier Leo Varadkar, when asked about the crackdown on RTE’s This Week in Politics, said that if a jobseeker “is not genuinely seeking work ... their payment can be stopped”.

Ireland has imposed some of harshest travel restrictions anywhere in Europe since the beginning of the travel ban.

The government last week published a “green list” of countries that are deemed safe to travel to – but Irish citizens are still being advised avoid non-essential travel. The safe list does not include the US, UK, Spain, Germany or France. But Italy, Greece and Malta are among the 15 countries on the list.

The government brought in a pandemic unemployment payment of up to €350 (£320) per week soon after lockdown measures were introduced in March.

Although most of those who have fallen foul of the airport checks were in receipt of the new pandemic payment, the Department of Social Protection said 44 existing social welfare payments – including jobseeker’s payments – have also been stopped following the checks introduced on 7 July.

Mr Varadkar told RTE: “If you’re in receipt of the jobseeker’s allowance for example you are allowed to take a break away of up to two weeks, but beyond that it can be stopped.”

The department’s inspectors are working with Garda, customs officers and immigration officials to carry out the checks on departing passengers at the country’s airports, according to Ireland’s Business Post, who first reported the clampdown.

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