Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the active labour market or back-to-work measures which have been introduced by her Department since May 2007 to date in 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37283/08]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 369: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the active labour market or back-to-work measures under development by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37284/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 368 and 369 together.

There is a range of education and employment supports available to people in receipt of welfare payments. These initiatives include the back to work allowance and the back to education allowance and are designed to assist and facilitate people on social welfare payments to return to the active labour force. The back to education allowance (BTEA) is designed to encourage people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. It enables qualified people who have been getting a social welfare payment to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course.

The following improvements to the back to education scheme came into effect from the beginning of the September 2007 academic year: people who are awarded statutory redundancy may access the BTEA scheme immediately provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established prior to commencing an approved course of study; and the qualifying period for illness benefit recipients was reduced from three to two years. In addition the cost of education allowance was increased to €500 from the beginning of the current academic year. Access to the scheme was also extended to people who are not receiving a weekly social welfare payment but who either sign the Live Register or submit medical certificates primarily in order to receive PRSI credits. The people concerned continue to receive PRSI credits and also qualify for the cost of education allowance.

The back to work allowance scheme (BTWA) is designed to assist the long term unemployed, and other social welfare recipients to return to work. The scheme is designed to support people who would not otherwise be able to return to the workforce for financial reasons. There have been no changes to the conditions for the BTWA in the period referred to by the Deputy.

The National Development Plan (NDP) 2007 -2013 provides for the Social and Economic Participation Programme involving an investment of €50 million in a new initiative specifically targeted at encouraging and supporting those on social welfare to make the transition from passive welfare payments to active participation in employment. The objective of the programme is to promote participation and social inclusion through activation measures aimed at people of working age on welfare, and to facilitate progression regardless of the circumstances that led the person to require income maintenance. This is a new service, delivered through the Department's facilitator network working in co-operation with other relevant service providers such as FÁS, VECs, HSE and other local agencies. The programme complements existing services, such as the back to work and back to education schemes, as well as services offered by other agencies in agreed circumstances, where necessary.

The Department's facilitator service is being expanded to provide for a one to one service to people who need intensive support to access education, training or employment. Ten additional facilitators have been appointed, a further 20 will be appointed in the coming year to bring the total in place to 70. In the first 3 years €13 million will be invested, following which the programme will be reviewed to ensure it is reaching the target groups.

In response to the downturn in the construction industry sector and in recognition of the special difficulties faced by apprentices who are being laid off, the Department and FÁS are working together to facilitate such apprentices in finishing their apprenticeships by placing them in employment where possible to enable them to obtain necessary certification thereby enhancing employment prospects at home and abroad. A particular priority is being placed on younger people signing on for the first time and people who have completed the Employment Action Plan process but who are still on the Live Register. Over the summer months the Department conducted a targeted programme to encourage young people between 18 and 25 years of age who were signing on the Live Register for more than six months to gain additional skills and qualifications through participation in further education.

All of these initiatives are being undertaken as the Department recognises that unemployment payments need to supplemented by activation measures to encourage and support social welfare recipients of working age to reduce their dependency on social welfare payments. The measures build on the co-operation and co-ordination that exists between the Department of Social and Family Affairs and FÁS. The Department continues to monitor and review the conditionality and operation of the employment support schemes with a view to providing the best possible service to its customers and to targeting limited resources at those who are most in need.