Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

When we seek to scrutinise policy, none of us is ever speaking about staff. When there is criticism of a policy, it is not about a lack of appreciation for staff. For the Minister then to say she knows her staff and how humane they are personalises the points someone else is making. It is as if they are being personal about employees when that is obviously not the case. It is not an attack on anyone's endeavour or how they do their jobs. It is more about the policy intent.

As for the policy intent, as someone who relied on social welfare services, I can tell the Minister, with the best intent, that people often think any job activation is better than waiting for the right job activation. In some cases, of course, that is being looked at in monetary and safety terms. I get that. However, the assessment should be about a self-assessment. It should not be about someone else's assessment of what he or she thinks might be good for the transition the person is going to take.

This is not tried and tested because we have not had pay-related benefit in this way. Tried and tested measures relate to long-term unemployment benefit and people who have been on the register as long-term unemployed. The jobseeker's pay-related benefit is a shorter scheme for people who have lost their jobs. They are already activated into work. Maybe their company has gone bust or something else has happened.They have already been in the workforce and are seeing what they hope will be a temporary interruption to their work. Therefore, the groups are different even though the same register might end up being the same. When we examine this, we need to be very clear – this goes back to my original question – on what is meant by work experience in this legislation or the existing legislation. Are we saying that if the Department of Social Protection wants to send somebody for work experience, some place of employment will state it is willing to take on people for work experience but that everybody else in the place will be paid €700 per week? Will the person on the pay-related benefit scheme receive the pay-related benefit only if doing the same job as others in the place he or she is sent for work experience? Why do people need work experience if they have work experience? They are not coming from a place where they do not have work experience.