Seminar on Overview of Welfare Reform
16 Thursday November 2017, Omagh Enterprise Centre.
Another great turnout at the recent Border People seminar which provided an overview on welfare reform in Northern Ireland and its cross-border implications.
Lee Hatton, Law Centre NI, explained the complicated changes and highlighted complex issues for cross-border workers and their families.
Some Universal Credit points raised on the day include:
- Cross-border workers will only be entitled to certain elements of Universal Credit
- How will real time income information deal with Irish earnings?
- Will the Irish benefits system treat Universal Credit as income?
Potential problems with the online system were also highlighted:
- Will the UK online Verify system work for claimants based in Ireland? Currently a postcode is needed to start online claim
- Will an Irish passport and/or a NI driving licence being accepted as ID – how will the system deal with Irish photo ID?
These were only some of the issues which were raised on the day. Many more questions remain!
