Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Gateway is a Government initiative in local authorities which aims to provide short-term quality and suitable opportunities to improve the employability and maintain the work readiness of those who have been unemployed for 24 months or more. To date, there have been 1,800 participants in the scheme and funding of the order of €22.4 million is being provided by the Department for the initiative.

I want to make it very clear that if a placement is having a negative financial impact on a participant, it is open to the person concerned to inform the Intreo office and seek to be excused from participation on financial grounds. In such cases the Department will work with the person concerned to identify other activation or educational opportunities which may be more appropriate to his or her circumstances.

Employees holding Gateway positions with an income of over €352 per week are liable for class A PRSI contributions, at a rate of 4% on total earnings. These employees are also subject to normal income tax and payroll deductions if their level of earnings brings them into the tax net. As the Deputy is aware, this also applies to employees in the private and public sectors and those engaged in other work placement initiatives such as Tús, community employment schemes and the rural social scheme. Participants in employment schemes who pay class A PRSI contributions can establish entitlement to the full range of short-term benefits, including jobseeker’s benefit, illness benefit and maternity benefit, and long-term benefits, including the contributory State pension.

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