Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The most recent Central Statistics Office, CSO, data shows that the long-term unemployment rate has fallen from 9.3% two years ago to 6.8% in the second quarter of this year, a very significant reduction. There were 146,500 persons long-term unemployed in the second quarter, down from the comparable figure of 200,000 two years earlier. A key aim of our Pathways to Work strategy is to ensure that as many as possible of the jobs created are taken up by those on the live register. Over 55,000 people who were long-term unemployed at the start of 2012 have already found work since Pathways to Work was launched. I am confident the overall target of 75,000 by the end of 2015 will be achieved.

I announced several important measures in budget 2015 designed to help increase the pace of the progress we are making in helping people back to work. The new back-to-work family dividend will enable long-term unemployed jobseekers with children who leave welfare to return to work to retain the child-related portion of their social welfare payment on a tapered basis over two years. This includes those who move to self-employment including the construction sector. The scheme will be worth €1,550 per child in the first year of employment or self-employment and half that amount again in the second year.

I am also increasing the monthly rate of child benefit by €5 from January. This will help all families with children but also has the additional benefit for unemployed families in that it is work-neutral as it is retained in full when they return to the workforce. I also announced a doubling of the number of places on JobsPlus next year to further encourage employers to recruit from the longer term unemployed.

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As well as rolling out these initiatives, the Department will next year continue to improve its services to long-term unemployed people, including an increased focus on encouraging employers to recruit from the live register. The recent launch of the employment and youth activation charter, a commitment by large employers to work with the Department to recruit staff from the live register, will help to form the basis for this engagement.

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