John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In reply to Deputy Nash, an undertaking was given in the programme for Government to introduce a more focused approach to how the State engages with and supports the unemployed to get back into the workforce. Pathways to Work, the Government's policy statement on labour market activation, sets out how the Government intends to do this and is a key element of the Government's strategy to get Ireland working again. The Pathways to Work policy statement has five strands, namely, more regular and ongoing engagement with people who are unemployed, greater targeting of activation places and opportunities, incentivising the take-up of opportunities, incentivising employers to provide more jobs for people who are unemployed and reforming institutions to deliver better services to people who are unemployed. Implementation of these five strands will ensure that people who are unemployed will be given the opportunity to acquire suitable skills or qualifications or both. The second strand commits to greater targeting of activation places and opportunities. Given limited public resources, it is essential that activation measures are targeted. The long-term unemployed in particular must be a focus for interventions.

The Momentum initiative, to which the Deputy referred, provides free education and training projects for 6,500 long-term unemployed jobseekers. The programmes will include on-the-job training in the form of work experience modules, as well as the development of the workplace skills required to obtain and retain employment. The initiative is administered by FÁS and funded by the Department of Education and Skills through the European Social Fund-supported labour market education and training fund, LMETF. In line with the commitments given in the Pathways to Work policy statement, eligibility for the Momentum initiative is targeted at the long-term unemployed and a participant must meet the following criteria, namely, be unemployed and on the live register for 12 months, that is, 312 days, or longer and be in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or benefit from the Department of Social Protection or credited contributions for 12 months or longer and be actively seeking work. However, a person who was unemployed for 12 months in the previous 18 months may be considered eligible for the initiative. Therefore, a person who was engaged in temporary or seasonal work or who was temporarily in receipt of a carer's payment, but was otherwise on the live register during that 18-month period, may qualify. This may satisfy some of the Deputy's concerns. Periods spent on other activation schemes, such as, for example, the back to education allowance, community employment schemes or Tús may count towards meeting the eligibility requirements for the Momentum programme, provided the person has completed the scheme or programme and is on the live register.

Access to Momentum courses is strictly through referral from the Department. Case officers must determine suitability and agree the most suitable course for a person to progress him or her on his or her pathway to employment. While in general, receipt of a carer's allowance does not satisfy the criteria for this initiative, there is a wide range of other activation supports available to those in receipt of carer's payment. It should also be noted that the Momentum initiative only represents a small percentage of the more than 450,000 State-funded places provided in further education, higher education and training. These include 75,000 FÁS training places in 2012, 180,000 further education places and 162,000 full-time higher education places provided through universities and institutes of technology. In addition, the State provides more than 40,000 training places, including 8,000 for the unemployed, in partnership with private employers, as well as more than 6,000 Springboard places in 2012, comprising free part-time higher education, with additional places to be announced for this year.

In line with Pathways to Work commitments, the long-term unemployed are a particular focus for interventions and the Momentum initiative is, therefore, exclusively targeted at this cohort.

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