Qualified for Tús employment scheme, but unable to take up offers

James is a supervisor whose job involves working with participants on Tús work placement schemes, and he sees up close how hard it is for some people to open accounts.
It is so bad that people end up walking away from the work opportunities, so frustrated and disenfranchised are they by the bureaucracy they must negotiate.

For every 100 people he seeks to set up with Tús placements each year there are usually around 30 that struggle to set up a bank account.

“The main challenge is that none of them would have a driving licence and never will. The other challenge is that they wouldn’t have a passport, they’d probably have never left their area to be honest with you. Another challenge with online applications is that there are literacy issues, and another part is that they wouldn’t be savvy with a computer. They might have access, but they wouldn’t have the skills to go through the process,” he said.

He is not allowed to give them the help that they need.

“It can be quite challenging, we try to help them as much as we can, but with GDPR and everything else we are very limited. If they are communicating with the passport office and you are lucky enough to get through, they won’t talk to me, they have to talk to the participants and they wouldn’t even know where to start,” he said.

In his experience the financial institutions expect a level of IT knowledge that the participants don’t have.

“I talked to Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB and they said to send them in to an appointment, we’ll help them get set up. The participants go in and next thing they are being directed to doing it online, and that puts them off completely again,” he said.

Without a bank account nothing will happen for those people who might have otherwise found a path back to the workforce by working part-time, 19.5 hours a week.

“If we find a placement that is a match to their skills and interests, and the organisation that we work with are willing to offer the place, we can’t offer a 12-month contract for them to work. We can only pay them a salary into a bank account, we can’t do cash, we can’t do it through the post office, it has to be some sort of financial institution.”

He has been dismayed to find that banks will not accept the Public Services Card, as he like many others thought that it was introduced for this kind of scenario. If it was accepted, it would be more straightforward for people without other forms of identification to open a bank account.

Meanwhile, people who are on the brink of significant personal progress through Tús get knocked back by something that should be accessible.

“It takes a lot of effort to get them to this point, to have the confidence to come in and try this programme, to get back into the labour force. Then they give up after a few tries. We try our best to support them as much as we can, but unfortunately without a document of some sort it can’t go any further.

“Unfortunately, I have to refer back approximately 30% of my participants, because I can’t get an account opened for them because of this protocol. I understand it is in place because of money laundering and all of that, but there has to be some way.”

He also sees the impact on those who are left behind by the continuing drive to get people to do everything on the internet.

“Everything has moved online, you do your banking online, pay your bills. But there is a generation that won’t move over to the digital format. They are finding it challenging. Recently they’ve found they can’t pay their bills at the Post Office anymore, which is another headache,” he said.

Response to questions put to Dept. of Social Protection

The Department of Social Protection issued a statement (below) to Changing Ireland as follows:

The Department has received a small number of queries regarding the payment of wages to a Tús customer that doesn’t have a bank account. In these instances, the Department advises the customer of the process involved in setting up a bank account and directs customers to supports available in the Implementing Bodies and online, such as that provided by the Citizens Information Board on their website. In addition to mainstream banks, customers are also advised to consider opening an account with other providers such as Credit Unions, An Post or digital only banks that operate primarily through online platforms. The Implementing Bodies actively work with customers who are interested in taking up a Tús place and who may be encountering issues setting up a bank account.

Under current legislation the Public Services Card cannot be requested by a financial Institution as proof of identity. The Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland provides guidelines for people who may not have the standard documentation required to open a bank account where generally it is recommended that an in-person appointment is made in a financial institution for these cases, further details can be found here: https://bpfi.ie/a-guide-to-moving-your-personal-account/opening-a-new-personal-bank-account/

Who is the Tús scheme for?

• Tús is a community work placement scheme which provides short-term working opportunities for unemployed people who are in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment.
• Tús is managed by Implementing Bodies, formerly known as Local Development Companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta, on behalf of the Department of Social Protection, which has overall responsibility for the scheme.
• Tús participants work 19 ½ hours a week and the placement lasts 12 months.
• Tús participants are paid directly into their bank accounts by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) on a weekly basis.