Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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On the figure of nine months, approximately 60% of the total who are unemployed are long-term unemployed. We have a serious long-term unemployed problem which the Minister is trying to address and it is a good initiative. I can think of three reasons to reduce it further. First, if we were to bring the period of eligibility to nine months, we would give more people this opportunity. Second, if it works, as I hope it will, by reducing it to nine months, we will prevent people from becoming long-term unemployed. Third, the longer a person is out of work the less chance he or s he has of successfully re-engaging in work, starting a new company or working for somebody else. I am straying into opinion, but we know this from the figures. It is not unreasonable to assume that one's potential to engage in entrepreneurial activity reduces the longer one is unemployed. That is suggested by the data.

In summary, the reasons for reducing the period of eligibility to nine months are that more people could avail of it; it would reduce the number of long-term unemployed by catching people before they fell into it and people at the margins would probably have a greater chance of success if we did not let them go the full 12 months. Will the Minister consider it or is there a specific reason we should not go less than 12 months?