New research suggests that the majority of jobseekers would be significantly better off working than remaining on benefits.
The Economic and Social Research Institute study found that eight out of ten jobseekers would earn at least 40% more in work than from benefits, while six out of ten would see their incomes at least doubled.
However, the report found that there are some families for whom the gap between in-work and out-of-work incomes is small.
Professor Tim Callan from the ESRI said the Back to Work Family Dividend, introduced in Budget 2015, has improved the financial incentive to work and has "made work pay even more than before".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that while the possible loss of a medical card has been cited as a reason not to return to work, this was not a major issue.
He said it will be a concern for some people, especially if there is a chronic illness in the family. However, long-term unemployed people can go back to work and keep a medical card for three years, he said, adding that there is a policy to deal with that.
He added: "I think it's true that welfare paying more than work is something of a myth and we've exposed that over the last four or five years in fact by very careful analysis of a representative survey.
"I think perhaps the reason for the myth is that people tend to look at particular examples – they start to look at a married man with two children and see what he gets on welfare and how much he would have to earn for work to pay more than welfare.
"If you start with a married man with two children, you are ruling out probably 75-80% of the people who are unemployed."
He said most of the unemployed are young and single.
He added: "They don't necessarily get a full rate of the welfare payment – there are now reduced rates of the welfare payment of €100 per week that young people are facing.
"So when you take that into account, we find that most people do have a significant incentive to work."
Prof Callan also said new Government policy is making a difference.
However, he said problems in relation to unemployment are not so much to do with welfare paying more than work, but with the broader issues of availability of employment.
Separately, he said lone parent families have a separate regime where they are able to combine some of their welfare with work which makes it easier to move into work.
