Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the incentives in place for persons (details supplied) in Dublin 12 who are anxious to get back to work and off the unemployment register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8139/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The back to work scheme was introduced to assist long term unemployed people, lone parents, and sickness related welfare recipients to return to active employment either by taking up employment or becoming self-employed. It is designed to support people who would not otherwise be able to return to the workforce for financial reasons. There are two strands to the scheme, the back to work allowance (BTWA) for persons who take up employment and the back to work enterprise allowance (BTWEA) for persons who become self employed.

In order to be eligible for the receipt of back to work enterprise allowance the applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment for a specific length of time immediately prior to commencing employment. A recipient is allowed to keep a portion of their social welfare payment for 4 years without having to pay tax or PRSI on it. To qualify, a person must be setting up a business that a Partnership Company or a Department Facilitator has approved in writing and in the case of a persons getting Jobseekers Benefit or Jobseekers Allowance they must be in receipt of a payment for at least 2 years.

The requirement to be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for a minimum period has always been a feature of the scheme. The Department's locally based Facilitator's provide information on options available to people trying to set up their own business. Facilitators can be contacted through the Social Welfare Local Offices network. The Department will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the back to work scheme to ensure that it continues to assist those furthest from the labour market.