Am I entitled to benefit?

Briefly this is my situation,took redundancy from eircom over five years ago and opted to a weekly payout which lasted five years.

This finished in February of this year and I received a P45.

As I was a civil servant for 21 years do I now qualify for any kind of allowance?

I am 49 and intend to pursue further education but at present have no income.

My wife is employed in the civil service and hers is now the only income that ourselves and our two children have to live on.

I have some money saved but that is earmarked for the children's education.

thank you

Re: Am I entitled to benifit?

If you're available for and seeking employment, you may be entitled to jobseeker's allowance - however it's a means-tested payment and your wife's income and savings will be taken into account.

Check out www.welfare.ie for means test details, or call into your local Social Welfare Office.

Depending on your wife's income, your family might be entitled to Family Income Supplement (details on the Welfare website mentioned above).