Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I listened to the Minister's reply. I welcomed the idea of the NEES that was outlined in the presentation, in addition to Pathways to Work on previous occasions. Yesterday, the Minister lost 246 staff from the Department as a result of the early retirement scheme and she is not replacing the majority of them.

The numbers applying for social welfare payments has been increasing across every scheme since the recession commenced. The Department's budget has been cut by €811 million. By 2014, its spending will have been cut by a further €1 billion. Has the Department the capacity to deliver a deeper and more regular engagement with jobseekers? There are more job-ready people than there are jobs. The European Vacancy Monitor, EVM, suggests one vacancy for every 50 jobseekers. This presents a large challenge. I am not being negative and I wish the Minister luck. The least that the unemployed deserve is a meaningful engagement with the Department, by which I mean a pathway to work, as suggested by the title of the initiative.

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