A woman who died by suicide had her wage support benefit stopped that week because she wouldn’t be finishing the week’s work.
The paltry sum was just €266 and a manager in the Community Employment Scheme confirmed to the Irish Mirror that he was told to stop the payment by Department of Social Protection penny pinchers.
It meant the family, who earlier in the year had to deal with another tragic suicide, were left without the few hundred euro extra the woman would have been paid for the week’s work.
The shocking case was highlighted in the Seanad during the Order of Business by Senator Gerard Craughwell in Tuesday morning’s session.
The heartless money clawback was slammed by Senator Craughwell.
He said: “I wish to address the levels of responsibility the system has placed on the shoulders of those supervisors who run these schemes (Community Employment).
“Last week I engaged with a supervisor of a scheme who during the course of our conversation went on to explain to me how part of their job involves providing psychological support now.
“As the conversation developed this supervisor told me of how a member of the scheme’s workforce had to cope with a family member’s suicide.
“I was saddened and shocked to then learn that in the middle of the first Covid-19 lockdown the person in question (the employee), clearly unable to live with the pain & loss of the family member, also committed suicide.
“The scheme supervisor on learning this sad news contacted the Department of Social Protection to advise them of what had happened.
“I understand that there were a few calls between the supervisor and the Department to establish the full details.
“On learning that the suicide took place in the early hours of a mid-weekday the department’s only response was to instruct the supervisor to be sure to deduct a small sum of money from the outstanding monies due to the deceased as the full week would not now be completed. “Now leader (of the Seanad), I fully understand that people have jobs to do but in a situation as traumatic as a suicide surely we can act with a little humanity.
“I believe that had this occurred in a training centre or school, professional psychological councillors would have been sent to the centre to support the local team.
“There are lessons to be learned here from this shocking and insensitive case.”
The Irish Mirror has talked to the supervisor in question and confirmed the facts of Mr Craughwell’s statement in the Seanad.
The Department of Social Protection has been contacted for comment.
