Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A problem that has been pointed out to me is that the back-to-work enterprise allowance scheme allows an individual to keep a portion of his or her social welfare payment for two years and a person might make a claim under both the back-to-work enterprise allowance scheme and the start-your-own-business initiative. The 12 month eligibility period allows both claims to be made. Bringing it down to nine months could make a person worse off. There is always a problem in combining schemes.