# Help! Social welfare halved. Need advice please.



## Tough_spot (18 Apr 2016)

Hi, as the title suggests my socail welfare was just halved from the standard 188 rate. The local office were badgering my girlfriend about us cohabitating. They made me bring in her wage slips and I presume they feel that we are making more than we should. 

My girlfriend has a temporary job as an s and a in a local school and makes 400 net per week. However she receives no income during any school holidays including the 3 months of the summer. Is her income not calculated over 12 months?

Also, we live in a house with another person and each have our own bedrooms and split the bills. Rent is 1200 a month before any other bills are paid. How can they expect her to pay 800 a month rent as well as electricity, heating, bin charged, etc. 

My girlfriend is only 22 and we are only living together with 4 months but it is a house share with someone else and how can she have any financial responsibility towards me at that age?

Extremely worried now, rent will be due at the end of the month and unless I can somehow resolve this I cannot pay my share as the 95 a week I now seem to be receiving does not even cover my share of the bills.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## Waver (18 Apr 2016)

If you disagree with the decision that you are cohabiting you can appeal it. The details should be on the letter informing you of the decision to reduce your Jobseekers Allowance.

If your circumstances change during the summer because your girlfriend is not working then you can give Social Protection evidence of that and get an increase


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## Tough_spot (18 Apr 2016)

I got no letter from anyone. I have received nothing from social welfare, don't know what the treshold is or if they took her financial situation into account properly


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## gipimann (18 Apr 2016)

You can ask for a copy of the means assessment which will show how your payment was calculated.

If you are under 25, your maximum rate is reduced even without assessment of means.


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## Bronte (19 Apr 2016)

Looks to me like the only way to resolve this is to move out.


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## Sunny (19 Apr 2016)

Appeal it. You are not co-habituating. You are living in shared accommodation with separate rooms etc. If you happen to sleep together once in awhile that's not their business. If someone happens to have a one night stand with one of their housemates, are they then considered cohabitating? Sounds like you were too honest with them. I hate this rule as it is so unfair. I have no problem with social welfare saying cohabitating couples should be jointly assessed but then why aren't Revenue jointly assessing cohabitating couples when it comes to tax. The State can't have it both ways.


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## cremeegg (19 Apr 2016)

Is there a reason why you don't just get a job ?


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## Bronte (19 Apr 2016)

Sunny how is he not cohabitating when he's in the same house living with his girlfriend.  The only way he can appeal this is to move out, or she has to move out.  For non couples even of the opposite sex these social welfare rules can be difficult to get around and to prove you are not boyfriend and girlfriend.

Many people scam the system by keeping two places. 

(I agree with you about Revenue, the state has it both ways)


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## Fella (19 Apr 2016)

cremeegg said:


> Is there a reason why you don't just get a job ?



Why get a job when you can get money for nothing from the state? If it was me i'd go cut grass ,clean windows, do whatever it took rather than claim welfare. 
I read a quote other day from 1931 so true still

 “You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.” 
― Adrian Rogers


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## Sunny (19 Apr 2016)

Bronte said:


> Sunny how is he not cohabitating when he's in the same house living with his girlfriend.  The only way he can appeal this is to move out, or she has to move out.  For non couples even of the opposite sex these social welfare rules can be difficult to get around and to prove you are not boyfriend and girlfriend.
> 
> Many people scam the system by keeping two places.
> 
> (I agree with you about Revenue, the state has it both ways)



You shouldn't have to prove you are not boyfriend and girlfriend. If a man and a woman share a house with other people but are just friends, should they have to prove they are not sleeping together to get social welfare. If two men or two women share a house, are they expected to prove that they are not more than friends?


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## Sunny (19 Apr 2016)

Fella said:


> Why get a job when you can get money for nothing from the state? If it was me i'd go cut grass ,clean windows, do whatever it took rather than claim welfare.
> I read a quote other day from 1931 so true still
> 
> “You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”
> ― Adrian Rogers



Well aren't you just amazing and I really love the way you think you are in a position to know and judge someone from a single post. The way you could read through the lines and see that this is a guy that just wants to sit around and do nothing and sponge off the State is brilliant. And then to throw such an inspiring quote at someone that might just be going through a temporary hard time shows such a caring side. 

As someone who had the cheek to claim jobseekers for 4 months out a 24 year working career and was ashamed by it, I would like to apologise to you and the Irish people for my laziness.


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## Waver (19 Apr 2016)

Sunny you can of course try to challenge the law but it could be a very long hard road or you could use the processes in place i.e.e get a copy of the decision and appeal it.


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## Sunny (19 Apr 2016)

Waver said:


> Sunny you can of course try to challenge the law but it could be a very long hard road or you could use the processes in place i.e.e get a copy of the decision and appeal it.



That's what I said. Appeal the decision.


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## Bronte (19 Apr 2016)

He has no hope Sunny of an appeal in the circumstances he's outlined.  He told them he is in a relationship and they are living in the same house.  And yes even gay couples also nowadays have to prove they are not in a relationship, but SW will make certain assumptions.  Like a house with 4 girls in 4 bedrooms means no relationship, but a male and female in a one bed not a hope.

I don't care if they each have their own bedroom, because he's confirmed he's boyfriend/girlfriend he's goosed.  That's the SW rule.


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## Chris2014 (4 Jul 2016)

Why on earth would you say you are BF and GF?

Go down tomorrow and tell them how she had to move out as she couldn't afford it anymore and your relationship broke up as a result.

Why would a couple have 2 single rooms anyway? Silly lesson to be learned here.

Also get a job rabble rabble.


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## Sudoku (5 Jul 2016)

I imagin there saying your a depenant cos your a couple and shes workign but your not. Wouldnt matter if you were married 50 years or going out with each other for a week, in the eyes of the law, your a dependant. Its awful but I tihnk you need to move out.


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