Above-average increases in unemployment payments have not added to dole queues in recent years, according to a report by the independent think-tank, the ESRI.
The authors of the report say effective State supports for re-employment, together with requirements that the unemployed actively train and seek jobs, have helped to keep unemployment low.
However, they also concede that the 155,000 individuals on the Live Register have a weaker financial incentive to work.
The study finds that - between 2000 and 2005 - unemployment benefit increased more rapidly than the average industrial wage.
For example, a couple with two children had what were recently re-named their 'jobseekers' payments' increased from 45.3% of the average industrial wage to just short of half of it.
The authors of the study say in the past there were concerns that this could discourage some unemployed persons from taking up jobs.
But they underline that unemployment has remained low, and numbers at work have continued to grow.
This month the Government obliged everyone signing on to present themselves at their FÁS office for training or placement within three months instead of within six months as was required up until now.
