Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for my late arrival. Dr. Johnston noted that people need to retain some benefits when they return to work. People returning to work can avail of the back to work family dividend and may also retain their medical card for three years. The forthcoming introduction of the housing assistance payment, HAP, will also be critical in allowing people to stay in their homes when they enter the workforce by paying the differential in rent to local authorities. Pilot HAP projects are in place but it is vital that the payment is introduced quickly because it will have a significant impact in terms of the opportunity to return to work.

Ms O'Brien referred to ethnicity and the need to move in the right direction. I represent the Dublin North constituency which has two significant population bases, namely, Balbriggan and Swords. In the year ending October 2014, unemployment declined by 17.2% in the Swords area and only 7% in the Balbriggan area. One of the differences between Swords and Balbriggan is that the latter has a significant population of non-Irish nationals. I was interested in Ms O'Brien's remark that we must address this issue. Has the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed done any work on the employability of this cohort of the population? Does it have any suggestions about how to address the issue?