Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I share with the Deputy the idea that the back to work enterprise allowance, in particular, is useful. A distinction should be made between the back to work allowance and the back to work enterprise allowance, although both come in under the same scheme. Approximately €80 million is set aside for the scheme for this year. I mentioned earlier the Cabinet sub-committee on economic co-operation and one of the issues we are looking at in that respect is the enterprise element. There are certainly many people out there with many good ideas.

We should bear in mind that this is a social welfare payment not a grant to set up a business. It facilitates people coming off long-term unemployment in setting up their own business. I am open to a change in the scheme of the enterprise allowance.

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