Nearly 7,000 unemployed people have been on the full rate of jobseeker's allowance for at least ten years.
According to new figures, almost 16,000 have been on it for over five years.
As of last week, over 93,000 people were on the full rate of jobseeker's allowance - which is capped at €203.
15,557 people have been on the payment for at least five years - and, of those, 6,957 have been on it for over 10 years.
Sinn Féin's employment spokesperson, Louise O'Reilly, says some vulnerable groups are out of work for a very long time.
She said: "We know members of the Travelling community can be affected, and very often are excluded from the labour market.
"We have the opportunity emerging out of the pandemic to do what Joe Biden is calling 'build back better'.
"What the State needs to do is be imaginative. The Government needs to be proactive."
Deputy O'Reilly said the Government needs to set targets for any groups that may find themselves excluded from employment in the long term.
Of those who've been on the payment for at least 10 years, nearly 1,800 are in Dublin.
The next highest is Donegal, with 470, followed by Wexford, at 394.
Cork, Galway and Limerick also have over 300 on the allowance for over ten years.
It comes amid calls from opposition parties for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment to be extended until jobs return in the sectors worst hit by the pandemic.
