One of the priorities I have been given in my Department is to place a particular focus on job activation. The new Department brings a joined-up approach to examining job activation in its wider context with income support. The biggest concern in many households around the country is the issue of jobs. Job activation and the provision of meaningful work activity for unemployed people are a central part of the Taoiseach's reasons for setting up the new Department of Social Protection. The amendments involving the work schemes and employment services moving into a single Department form part of our commitment to targeting the day-to-day needs of unemployed people.

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