Over 700 people in Galway have been on the Jobseekers’ Allowance (JA) for at least ten years.
The Department of Social Protection figures obtained by Newstalk under Freedom of Information show that 15,000 people nationally have been on JA for over 10 years.
Some 4,037 of those are in Dublin, while Galway, Donegal, Cork Louth and Wexford all have at least 700.
BrÃd O’Brien from the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed told Newstalk that there are many reasons people can find themselves long-term unemployed.
“The longer you’re out of work, the more difficult it can be to get in work, which is why then good advice and support is critical,” she said.
“People may need to reskill, retrain. Even just getting the advice – getting a job is a job in itself.
“The majority of us aren’t great at it so people do need good pointers and advice around how to secure a job, how to apply for a job, how to present yourself.”
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