Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)

This will be done through legislation to be introduced by my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton. The existing employer job, PRSI, incentive scheme will remain in place until the end of this year so that enterprises and businesses that had planned to take on staff under this scheme in that period may continue to do so.

As set out in the programme for Government, it is the Government's intention to reform the structures for setting wages at sectoral level. The Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation has recently received the report of the independent review of Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreements, which he will be published shortly. The report states that the system requires radical overhaul to make it fairer and more responsive to changing economic circumstances and labour market conditions.

The downturn in the economy has had a profound effect on the labour market, with areas such as retail, accommodation and food being among those hardest hit. In this environment, it is necessary to ensure that these structures are flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances and that they reflect the realities of our modern economy. In particular, there are issues relating to overtime and premium payments for Sunday working, the number of Joint Labour Committees and the general functioning and supervision of the system. Following publication of the report, the Government is determined to proceed with urgency to substantial reform of the system.

Job creation is central to any economic recovery strategy. That is why labour market policy forms an important part of the programme for Government. Measures to reduce employment costs and to make wage-setting arrangements work more fairly and more responsively are, in turn, essential tools of labour market policy but they will not be sufficient to address the severe labour market problems that we currently face. They must be accompanied by measures that ensure a pathway to appropriate employment, education and training opportunities for people who have become unemployed. At all costs we must avoid the risk that people who are now long-term unemployed will find it difficult to secure meaningful employment again in the open labour market. That is why it is essential to maximise the effectiveness of the substantial resources we provide on activation measures and provide for a more integrated approach and targeting of effort.

Increasing levels of engagement with the unemployed at clear milestones is a key element of our approach to creating pathways to employment for such persons. A re-invigorated national employment action plan, within the architecture of the National Employment and Entitlements Service will underpin this increased level of engagement. The Minister for Social Protection will publish details of the further development and roll-out of the new approach to engagement with those on the live register. The Government's objective will be to ensure the State will engage with unemployed people and advise them on training, education or work placement opportunities that are appropriate to each individual's circumstances.

We will provide an additional 6,000 specific skills training courses targeted at those who have left employment in areas where there are now significant structural employment issues, such as the construction industry. We will also provide an additional 3,000 Back to Education initiative places which will be targeted at adults with less than the leaving certificate. Some 1,000 additional post-leaving certificate places will be targeted at school leavers and adults returning to education. An additional 5,900 places will be provided under the third level-springboard programme targeted at those who have left employment where there are now significant structural employment issues.

The Government will also establish a new national internship scheme providing 5,000 work experience placements in the private, public and voluntary sectors. This will be a time-limited scheme and will provide work experience placements for interns for a six to nine month period. A weekly allowance of €50 per week on top of the existing social welfare entitlement will be payable for the period of the internship.

Taking all of these measures together, the net result is that there will be some 20,900 places available at an additional cost in 2011 of €11 million. This represents a substantial and meaningful commitment to helping people who have lost their jobs. These measures are, of course, on top of the other initiatives such as the supports for over 1,000 redundant apprentices now being put in place to enable them to complete on-the-job training.

See this speech in context