Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I presume the Deputy is referring to the back to work allowance scheme for employees which is one of two strands in the Department's back to work programme. The scheme was designed to assist the long-term unemployed, lone parents, people with disabilities and other social welfare recipients to return to work. The allowance is paid on a reducing scale over a three year period. Participants retain any additional secondary benefits they had prior to participation.

In order to respond effectively to the growing numbers on the live register, the changing profile of jobseekers generally and the current employment situation, it was decided in April 2009 to refocus the existing resources for back to work schemes towards helping people into self-employment. The intention is to support enterprises that will, in due course, create further employment opportunities. To this end, the back to work allowance scheme for employees was closed to new applicants from 1 May 2009. Existing participants retained their entitlements and, in general, the last of these will have finished by the end of April 2012. However, the scheme contains a provision that participants who drop out before their entitlement ceases can in certain circumstances resume where they left off. Consequently, there may be a small number of people re-entering whose entitlement will not expire until after April 2012.

There were 4,305 people on the back to work employee scheme at the end of 2007. The equivalent figure was 3,558 at the end of 2008 and 2,012 at the end of 2009. The expenditure figures collated by the Department do not distinguish between the back to work allowance scheme and the related back to work enterprise allowance. The overall expenditure on both schemes in 2007 was approximately €71 million. In 2008, it was over €73 million. The outturn for 2009 has not yet been finalised, but the estimated figure is approximately €76.5 million.

Participants in the back to work allowance scheme retain any secondary benefits they were in receipt of prior to participation, as long as they satisfy a household income means test where applicable. The Department has not undertaken specific research on the annual cost to the State of this measure, which has always been seen as important to the success of the back to work allowance scheme.

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