Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Burke. The first part of my answer on behalf of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, will deal with the Senator's question as tabled. I will also address the second part of his question, regarding the day-based system versus the hour-based system.

The main social welfare schemes for jobseekers are the jobseeker’s allowance and the jobseeker’s benefit schemes. Both schemes provide significant support such that individuals who are casually employed or working part-time can work up to three days a week and retain access to a reduced jobseeker’s payment. For instance, an individual can earn a little over €20,190 per year and retain a small jobseeker’s allowance payment, while the equivalent threshold for an individual with a qualified adult is almost €4,700 if they are both working.

In addition to the two jobseeker’s schemes, the Department’s main in-work support is the working family payment, formerly known as the family income supplement, which supports families who have children and where the parents are on low incomes and work at least 19 hours per week. The back to work family dividend scheme allows recipients of jobseeker’s allowance or jobseeker’s benefit who have been jobseekers for 12 months or recipients of the one-parent family payment to retain their full increase for qualified children for the first year in employment, tapering to 50% in the second year.

A long-term unemployed jobseeker who is offered employment of more than three days but less than 24 hours a week may be eligible for the part-time job incentive scheme. Under this scheme a jobseeker can receive a weekly payment of €124.40 per week if he or she is single or €204.50 if he or she has an adult dependant. The combination of schemes available provides considerable income support for individuals in part-time employment by allowing them to retain access to a social welfare payment.

Reflecting the impact of Government policy and the overall improvement in the labour market, long-term unemployment continues to fall. The most recent data show that unemployment has fallen from a peak of 15% to 5.8% in May 2018.

As regards the second part of the Senator's question, it is recognised that a changing labour market has resulted in a move away from traditional work patterns. Any changes to the current criteria, however, such as moving to an hours-based system, could result in a significant additional number of individuals becoming eligible for a jobseeker's payment, with substantial corresponding cost implications for the Exchequer. In addition, if there were a change from the day-based system to an hours-based system, existing part-time workers would lose out if their current hours of work over three days exceeded the new hours threshold, thereby creating a disincentive to working more.

Other schemes to support families on low incomes include the working family payment and the back to work family dividend.The part-time job incentive scheme can provide assistance to long-term unemployed persons who can only part-time employment for fewer than 24 hours per week.