Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In her initial contribution the Deputy asked a very straightforward question as to whether JobsPlus was a cynical way to manipulate the live register. I can say this is certainly not the case. I was involved in some of the discussions on this at Cabinet level. The intention was always to give people who have been on the live register for a long period a fair go, because employers are generally less inclined to hire somebody who has been on the dole for a long period. It was really just give them an extra leg up and a fair go when it came to the employment market. As the Deputy knows, with the social welfare and medical card systems, or any such system, every time one does something one creates a new anomaly or potentially a new injustice. What the Deputy is pointing to here is the fact that single parents who lose their one-parent family payment and are trying to get back into work may now be at a disadvantage over people who have been long-term unemployed who are now more likely to be hired because of this. I totally get what the Deputy is saying. It is progress that the Minister, Deputy Burton, has suggested it could be extended to those on the jobseeker's transitional payment. When I see her in the coming days I will mention it to her. Deputy Conway's point is well made. I am not sure how to solve it without creating another problem, but that is the nature of these schemes, unfortunately.

See this speech in context