redundancy and entitlements

hi there

im being made redundant from my current place of work at the end of august after working here for over 10 years, and i just have some questions about claiming unemployment benefits for a single male living in the west wicklow area who owns his own house.

firstly this might seem stupid but how do i go about claiming my allowance for the unemployed? ive never been unemployed and really dont have an idea where to start.
im lucky in regards to the fact that i have been selected for a civil service job and im just waiting for my medical and phyiscal which are about 10months to a year away so will i be sent for interviews for work?
where do i sign on? do i have to travel to the east of wicklow or can i sign on in the dublin region that is closer?
what am i entitled to claim relief on i.e mortgage or anything else similar and is it means tested? i will be recieving a lump sum for my redundancy.

thanks for your help and knowledge

cannonadale

cannonadale said:

firstly this might seem stupid but how do i go about claiming my allowance for the unemployed? ive never been unemployed and really dont have an idea where to start.

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Just pop down to your local SW office with any relevant details (e.g. P45, RP1 (?), PPSN, most recent P60 etc. - check www.welfare.ie in case there are other details normally required) and sign on. They will explain to you what you might be entitled to and how to go about it.

im lucky in regards to the fact that i have been selected for a civil service job and im just waiting for my medical and phyiscal which are about 10months to a year away so will i be sent for interviews for work?

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You must be actively seeking and available for work to claim Jobseeker's Benefit/Allowance so you will need to be looking in the meantime anyway. There are other qualifying conditions but they are summarised on www.welfare.ie.

where do i sign on? do i have to travel to the east of wicklow or can i sign on in the dublin region that is closer?

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Your local SW office.

what am i entitled to claim relief on i.e mortgage or anything else similar and is it means tested?

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Not sure - check www.welfare.ie and www.citizensinformation.ie or just ask when you are signing on.