Mr. John McKeon:

One of the actions under Pathways to Work was to deliver a better-off-in-work statement to people at their initial one-to-one guidance interview. We have changed tack a little on that. We have developed an online tool that will be available at the end of the month which is a ready reckoner. It will show recipients the comparative earnings if they take on a job, say, for 30 hours a week on the minimum wage. While it will not be precise for every individual as it will not include other points of information such as tax, it will give them a good idea of how better off they would be working.

We have noted group engagement is seen positively. I know of people who were unemployed in the 1980s and lost their job again in this recession. They tell me group engagement gives them all information on social welfare payments and it reassures them they are not alone. We have information packs for jobseekers which are comprehensive, easy to read and easy to follow. There is an old adage that if one wants to get someone to internalise a fact, one has to tell them five different times in three different ways. By repeating the message over and over again, it will eventually bed in.