Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 149: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on the introduction of a wage subsidy scheme to protect jobs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4188/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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There are a number of existing schemes, funded by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, which provide a subsidy to a person's wage. These include employment supports available to persons in receipt of welfare payments that are designed to assist and facilitate people on social welfare payments to return to the active labour force. Included in these measures is the Back to Work Allowance (BTWA). The BTWA scheme is designed to assist the long-term unemployed, lone parents, people with disabilities and other social welfare recipients to return to work. There are two strands to the scheme, the Back to Work Enterprise allowance for the self-employed and the Back to Work Allowance for employees. These allowances provide a monetary incentive for people who are dependant long-term on social welfare payments to make the return to work financially attractive and viable.

Financial support is also available to those who are engaged in short-time employment through the payment of Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance in respect of those days that the person is unemployed.

In addition to that outlined above, my Department, through FÁS, funds and operates a Wage Subsidy Scheme that provides financial incentives to employers, outside the public sector, to employ disabled people who work more than 20 hours per week.