Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

My view, which I have given to the Deputy on a number of occasions, is that people are always better off in work. They may start back on a relatively low income but very often, having worked for a period, they get increases. It is better for those people and their families that they should work.

The Deputy is right to state that the number of people interested in family income supplement at present is climbing. I hope the improvements in the website contribute to that. If one goes back to 2007, before the collapse, there were 37,000 people receiving FIS. By the end of 2011 there were 51,000 and the figure is on the increase. We have already received a significant number of new applications and applications for renewal to date this year.

Why is the scheme not better known? To the end of April this year we had received 7,500 new applications and 10,700 renewal applications. These are strong figures and indicate that further increase is likely by the end of this year. I suspect FIS is not better known because for those people who work with large employers there tends to be a knowledge within HR departments. Perhaps with smaller employers people may be reluctant to give details of their personal circumstances to their employers or those employers may be reluctant to take part in the scheme. The Department has set up an employer relations division to go out and knock on employers' doors and talk to them about the fantastic people who are on the live register. I have spoken at several meetings with employers, perhaps 2,500 since last October, when we started this very intensive process. In early July we are launching Jobs Plus, an employers further assistance in terms of PRSI. One of the points I will bring to the attention of employers is the availability of this very important assistance to families on low income, in particular those with children.

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