Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Jim Daly for the work he has done and the thought he has given to how the Government can improve incentives and target people who are long-term unemployed. We expect to launch JobsPlus in early July and we will see how the scheme goes.

I had an opportunity, as part of the roll-out of the Pathways to Work scheme, to visit eight or nine major locations with a departmental roadshow. Up to 2,500 employers and human resources specialists visited these public events.

Many employers who are seeking to recruit staff do not consider people who are unemployed for positions because they want to recruit people who are in work or coming new to the labour market. A gap on a curriculum vitae indicating that someone has been out of work, through no fault of the person in question, raises queries and questions. If potential recruits are available who have not been out of work, they tend to be preferred. We must overcome this problem, which is one of the reasons I developed JobBridge. It is interesting that more than 18,000 people, including 6,000 people currently on the scheme, have availed of a JobBridge internship. Indecon International Economic Consultants did a study of the scheme and found that within five months of completing JobBridge, 60% of participants had moved into employment.

We have a job to do in convincing employers and human resource specialists that people who are on the live register are a major resource and need to be given a fair opportunity. The JobsPlus initiative will offer employers direct cash incentives. Employers who take on a person who has been unemployed for between one and two years will receive €7,500 over two years, while those who employ a person who has been unemployed for more than two years will receive €10,000 over two years. These are significant cash incentives, particularly if the employer is taking on somebody on a relatively low wage. As I stated, the scheme will be launched in early July and I will bear in mind the proposals the Deputy made for further incentivising persons who are unemployed and employers.

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