Post
by Brigid from Ireland » Fri May 10, 2013 1:30 pm
I do not think that job seeking is sufficient. One could seek work for four decades, with no success. BUT if you are financially capable of supporting yourself without a job, I do not think this matters.
I know many pensioners who are not Irish and who live here. They are considered self sufficient because their pension provides sufficient income that they do not become a burden on the state.
In general, Irish officials like paperwork. So if you can't get a job, contact Revenue and say that you are self employed. Declare a modest income from the self employment and you are sorted out. After two years declaring an income of 10,000 per year (on which you pay almost no tax) you will be able to get social welfare, as you will have an employment record as a self employed person. Strange but true.
The difficulty a lot of people have is that they make a modest income from self employment (eg cleaning houses or minding children or garden maintenance) but they don't declare it because they are not educated enough to understand the implications. Then when they get sick or can't make enough money, there is no proof that they were working. Therefore they have problems getting social welfare money.
BL