Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Listening to Deputy Shortall I was beginning to think I was in some kind of Alice in Wonderland world because she said we did not encourage people to go on courses. People can take up part-time courses and keep social welfare benefits. If one takes up a full-time course one can get the back to education allowance. The Bill states the exact opposite to what Deputy Shortall tried to infer. It contains a provision whereby if one refuses to go on an appropriate course or refuses work there are sanctions. I believe, as does the Deputy, that the vast majority of people in receipt of unemployment payments would give anything to work. I am also told by all the Deputies in the House that a small number of people who are not available for work and are not actively seeking work are drawing unemployment payments.

We constantly hear of people who are working and drawing payments, which is putting other people who are paying their taxes and working legitimately out of business. It is right that the State should ensure that it has the instruments in place so that when people are offered appropriate employment or training and refuse, for some mysterious reason, to be available for it, it can act. It only applies where a course is offered. The number of courses is not material in this case because one cannot offer something one does not have, therefore it could not apply unless an offer was made. A training place would have to be available. Whether I have 10,000 or 100,000 training places it is only possible to impose penalties under the Bill if an appropriate training place is available.

We are serious about this issue or we are not. I said on Second Stage that under this Bill the various activation schemes, which are in so much demand around the country, such as the rural social scheme, community employment schemes, job initiative schemes and community services programmes, are to be transferred. I could fill those schemes many times over with people who are genuinely looking to get on them. One way of creating extra places is to root out those who should not get the payments.

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