The new Government has published their commitments in the Programme for Government, called "Securing Ireland's Future". The INOU has made a summary of the commitments they have made that may affect people experiencing unemployment that you can read here.
Please note that this is a summary of extracts; it is not a complete representation of the main document.
The full Programme for Government is here.
Read our statement on the draft Programme for Government here.
1. Social Protection Commitments
Working Age Payment
This Government will:
• Introduce a new Working Age Payment which will ensure that individuals always see an increase in income when they work or take on additional hours. The Working Age Payment will remove inconsistencies and anomalies in the current Jobseekers Allowance Scheme which discourage people from taking up employment. We will publish draft proposals for full consultation with stakeholders in advance of Government agreeing the final design of the Working Age Payment.
Intensive Activation Supports
This Government will:
• Publish a new Employment Strategy focused on intensive engagement and supports to help those most distant from the labour market into the workforce.
• Ensure every effort is made to support individuals transition from welfare into further education/training and work, by examining how to avoid a cliff edge when people take up work.
• Increase the number of recruitment fairs and job matching services connecting employers with jobseekers.
• Scale up control measures in order to tackle abuse of social welfare payments.
Comprehensive Means Test Review
This Government will:
• Carry out a comprehensive review of means tests across the social welfare system taking into account the recent Report on Means Testing by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection with a view to creating a fairer social welfare system.
• Enhance application processes within the Department of Social Protection and provide additional resources where necessary to ensure that individuals receive decisions on their applications in a timely manner.
Community Employment
This Government will:
• Provide increased flexibility to local Community Employment (CE), TÚS, and Rural Social Schemes to retain participants for longer when it benefits both the individual and the community.
• In particular, work to ensure there is some discretion at local level so that vulnerable individuals who have little prospect of entering paid employment are not forced off CE schemes when their three-year term expires.
• Increase the top-up payment for participants on CE, TÚS, and the Rural Social Scheme in recognition of the important work they do in local communities.
Pensioners
This Government will:
• Maintain the State Pension Age at 66.
• Examine improvements to key ancillary benefits such as the Fuel Allowance, Household Benefits Package and Living Alone Allowance to support vulnerable groups.
• Examine what modifications or changes may be made to support women who currently fall outside the existing schemes to qualify for a State Pension.
Carers
This Government will:
• Continue to significantly increase the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government. Progressively increase weekly Carer’s Payments.
• Continue to increase the annual Carer’s Support Grant.
• Examine the introduction of a Pay Related Carer’s Benefit for individuals who have to give up work suddenly in order to provide full-time care to a loved one.
Disability
This Government will:
• Introduce a permanent Annual Cost of Disability Support Payment with a view to incrementally increasing this payment.
• Reform the Disability Allowance Payment and remove anomalies in the current means test for the payment.
• Examine the ‘ability to work’ criteria for certain payments and ensure that ongoing medical assessments are not carried out in respect of people with lifelong conditions that are not going to change.
• Review the minimum hours requirement under the Wage Subsidy Scheme for people with disabilities and examine an increase to the payment rate.
• Promote training initiatives to raise awareness and understanding of disabilities amongst Intreo staff.
Children and Families
This Government will:
• Introduce Pay Related Parents Benefit and explore other payments where a similar model could be applied.
• Examine the extension of Parents Leave and Benefit and additional flexibilities.
• Continue to support families with the cost of raising their family through the child benefit payment.
• Examine the eligibility criteria for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.
• Set a new child poverty target and examine ways to lift more children out of child poverty.
• Explore a targeted Child Benefit Payment and examine the interaction this would have with existing targeted supports to reduce Child Poverty such as the Working Family Payment and Child Support Payment.
• Expand the eligibility for the Fuel Allowance to families in receipt of the Working Family Payment.
• Increase core welfare payments, ensuring that resources are also targeted at people who are unable to work.
• Progressively increase the Child Support Payment.
• Develop a pension solution for foster carers in recognition of the enormous contribution they make to vulnerable children in our society.
• Examine how the social protection system can better support people fleeing domestic violence.
• Enhance supports for lone parents.
• Enact legislation to give entitlement to unmarried cohabitants to a Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension.
• Extend the period of a social welfare payment following the death of a dependent from 6-12 weeks.
Workers
This Government will:
• Introduce Pay Related Benefit in March 2025 linking unemployment payments to previous earnings for those who have contributed to the Social Insurance Fund and who lose their jobs.
• Introduce the Auto Enrolment My Future Fund in September 2025 to provide workers with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement savings.
• Explore the option of giving self-employed workers access to Illness Benefit by means of making a higher PRSI contribution.
2. Enterprise and Employment Commitments
This Government will:
• Target the creation of 300,000 extra jobs by 2030, supported by strategic investments, supportive enterprise policies, and a focus on fostering a vibrant economy.
Supporting Workers
This Government will:
• Recognise the work of the independent Low Pay Commission, ensuring fair wages whilst also supporting the viability of small and medium-sized enterprises.
• Support the central role of the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court in industrial relations and employment rights.
• Work to promote a diverse and equal workforce for all sections of society, including from minority or disadvantaged communities.
• Develop a Code of Practice to support the hiring of workers with a disability.
• Work with employers and across Government to improve employment of people with disabilities and ensure that supports for entrepreneurs and enterprise are accessible to all, including people with disabilities with a goal of reaching at least the EU average.
• Ensure citizens with disabilities can access employment on an equal basis to others by focussing on building skills, capacity and independence, and develop bridges from special schools into employment.
• Continue to ensure employers make reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities in the workplace.
• Promote flexible working arrangements that benefit both workers and employers, ensuring a balanced approach.
• Publish an Action Plan for collective bargaining in 2025 in line with our commitments under the EU Directive.
• Implement the Department’s actions under the Zero Tolerance Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Strategy
Social Entrepreneurship
This Government will:
• Continue to support the vital role of social entrepreneurship, recognising its value in the local economy and society.
• Review the vital supports available for social enterprises from State Bodies.
• Establish a forum to promote a more integrated approach to social entrepreneurship across government departments and build on Ireland’s first National Social Enterprise Policy.
• Consider an annual Social Enterprise Empowerment and Development allocation (SEED) to unlock the potential of the social enterprise sector for sustainable job creation, affordable childcare provision and community services.
3. Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Commitments
Increase access to Further and Higher Education
This Government will:
• Provide more further education and training places nationally.
• Increase the number of third-level pathways outside the Leaving Certificate points system and introduce a single application process for apprenticeships, further and higher education.
• Review the financial supports available to adult learners and promote access to education and lifelong learning
• Grow apprenticeship registrations to at least 12,500 by 2030, and develop and launch a new 5-year Apprenticeship Action Plan for 2026-2030 to set a strategic vision for the sector and expand the skills categories.
Boosting Skills and Apprenticeships
This Government will:
• Expand the CAO system to include more apprenticeship options.
• Expand the skills categories that can avail of the National Training Fund to include sectors such as healthcare and education.
• Grow apprenticeship registrations to at least 12,500 by 2030, and develop and launch a new 5-year Apprenticeship Action Plan for 2026-2030 to set a strategic vision for the sector and expand the skills categories.
• Work with the National Skills Council to update apprenticeship curriculums to meet today’s industry standards.
• Ensure new courses in Green Skills supporting Ireland’s transition to a green economy and establish industry centres of retrofitting excellence nationwide.
• Ensure the Apprenticeship Employer Grant maximises the number of people starting and completing apprenticeships.
• Maintain the Gender Based Bursary and bursary funding to encourage participation from underrepresented groups in apprenticeships.
• Continue to invest in the National Construction Training Centre at Mount Lucas, Co. Offaly, to address future demands for construction skills.
4. Equality and Inclusion Commitments
Empowering Women
This Government will:
• Publish and implement an updated National Strategy for Women and Girls.
• Develop a way to advance gender budgeting.
• Encourage employers to publish statistics of the take up, by both genders, of parental leave and flexible working.
• Conduct an assessment of access to finance and financial services for women from minority groups.
• Advance education, training and maintenance of new digital skills and capacities, and particularly STEM subjects, with a special focus on girls (universal access to coding, maths and ICT classes), through training and lifelong learning, and to prioritise diversity and inclusion in STEM.
LGBTQI+
• Implement the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy which focuses on safety, health and well-being, participation and inclusion, equality and non-discrimination – including online.
Combat racism and discrimination
This Government will:
• Examine the compensation limit for claims made under the Equal Status Act 2000.
• Support the local authorities Community Engagement Teams.
• Continue to implement training programmes within our education system to address racism and unconscious bias, fostering a more inclusive environment for all students and reducing susceptibility to extremist views.
• Promote and fund intercultural events and activities nationwide, celebrating diversity and encouraging understanding among different communities.
• Launch national and local community campaigns to highlight the positive impacts of migration and to challenge disinformation.
Support Traveller and Roma Communities
This Government will:
• Implement the Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy.
• Implement the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy.
• Implement the National Traveller Health Action Plan.
• Take steps to advance financial literacy and financial services inclusion for Irish Traveller and Roma communities.
5. Driving Balanced Regional Development & Supporting Rural Communities Commitments
Supporting Communities
• Progressively increase funding for the Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme (SICAP) which is critical to addressing social exclusion and disadvantage and encouraging involvement in communities.
• Continue to support and increase the places on successful local programmes such as CE, TÚS and the Rural Social Scheme which do vital work in local communities.
• Invest in the rollout of the Local Community Safety Partnerships and social and economic regeneration programmes to support communities experiencing high levels of crime, unemployment and social exclusion.
Other Commitments
• Implement an employment strategy for former offenders and support increased access to education and training workshops through the Prison Education Taskforce.
• Progressively reduce the cost of childcare to €200 per month per child through the National Childcare Scheme and explore options to cap costs for larger families.
• Implement an eInclusion Strategy to ensure no one is left behind by the move to a digital society.
• Provide citizens with the choice of better public services online, while increasing the efficiency of service delivery though digitalisation of public services, particularly in health.
• Explore the establishment of a managed savings account for newborns with an initial once-off contribution by the State, ensuring lower income families benefit most from its inception.