Mr. John McKeon:

Yes. One of the goals of the interim model is to improve the level of knowledge and awareness of the group engagements. We sent the members some of the literature we give every jobseeker at a group engagement. It is improving the level of knowledge and awareness. The number on family income supplement, FIS, has nearly doubled this year compared to last year, and much of that is directly attributable to our working with jobseekers. Newspaper reports yesterday about families that cannot be bothered working because they are on welfare are nonsense. We make an effort to point out that FIS is available and that one can move into employment and be far better off. That illustrates the kind of effort we are making to improve the level of knowledge and awareness.

The matter of jobless households gets airtime, and while it is an issue, based on the data, it does not exist independently of the unemployment situation. Before the economic bust, Ireland had a lower level of jobless households than the European average. Although it has increased to above the European average since then, it has increased exactly in line with the level of unemployment generally. We must be careful about the definition of the term "jobless household", which means low-work-intensity household, where work occupies less than 20% of the adult time. We need to be careful when issues get airtime and make headlines which may generate more heat than light. While we have an issue, particularly for lone parents and families with children, it is not as acute as it is sometimes represented. The primary focus in tackling jobless households must be unemployment growth and activation. If we reduce the number of unemployed people, based on how it grew, it will bring the number of jobless households back towards the European average or below.