Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the Senators who have welcomed the Bill in a fulsome way. I acknowledge the work my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, has done in the other House and the exchange of dialogue which, I must say, is not confined to the other House. If we need to examine issues in this House let us do so, and if it means changes we can return to the other House. This type of legislation will not come around again very soon and it is important we get as much input into it as we possibly can while we are doing it. I will also convey the good wishes expressed by so many of the Senators to the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, and I know he will be back fairly soon.

I recognise the point made by Senator Averil Power regarding the input from various groups and the importance of community employment groups and their relationship with education. I introduced the original social employment schemes, and the thinking on them was very much related to what my cousin, Senator Feargal Quinn, spoke about with regard to the interaction between entitlement to financial support in return for doing something. What the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, is trying to do with Intreo, and the merger of FÁS placement activities into the Department of Social Protection and its training activities into the Department of Education and Skills, is to move to the Nordic Scandinavian model. If one no longer has a job for whatever reason, one is assessed by Intreo and if one is of an age, ability and attitude one will be offered training places and opportunities to work in return for income support. If one turns down these places and opportunities there will be a financial penalty. We must move to a culture where entitlement to an income is not automatic. Full employment in most economies of our type is recognised at 4% unemployment.