Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 31: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she is considering alternatives or proposals for young people, who are unemployed, to avail of opportunities, in tandem with other Departments, in view of her recent changes to the payment of unemployment assistance to this group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17024/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The budget changes made to the rate of payment of jobseekers allowance to young people was undertaken in order to incentivise 18 and 19 year old jobseekers to avail of education and training opportunities and try to avoid them becoming welfare dependant from a young age. The full adult rate of the relevant payment will be paid to 18 and 19 year olds who participate in full time approved education or training programmes. This measure will provide this group with a strong financial incentive to engage in education or training or to take up employment.

The Government is now providing, through FÁS a total of 128,000 training and activation places for the unemployed this year. This is a substantial increase on the approximate 66,000 places taken up last year. Also Job Search/National Employment Action Plan referral capacity has nearly doubled for 2009 from 6,500 cases per month to 12,250. This represents an unprecedented increase in capacity for this programme, which is being undertaken by FÁS in co-operation with the Department of Social and Family Affairs. In addition there are 146,700 places available in further education programmes in 2009. This demonstrates the scale of activity being supported by this Government to ensure that people are best positioned to get back into employment.

The recent supplementary budget outlined a joint approach to activation agreed between the departments of Social and Family Affairs, Enterprise Trade & Employment and Education & Science. A range of additional measures were outlined aimed at maintaining people in employment, re-skilling and facilitating better access to allowances while avoiding undue negative impacts on vulnerable individuals.

As part of the budget I introduced a package of measures relating to the back to work enterprise allowance and back to education allowance schemes to facilitate better access to supports. The package put together by the Departments of Enterprise, Trade & Employment and Education & Science has some 11 proposals to provide 23,435 extra employment and training scheme places.

The impact of the change to the jobseekers allowance payment to 18 and 19 year olds and the uptake by this age group of the available education and training opportunities will be kept under review by my department and the other departments involved.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 32: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on the lack of entitlement of self-employed persons who are no longer working to State jobseeker supports; her further views on making changes to the system to allow for improved supports for jobseekers who were formerly self-employed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16969/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The range of benefits and pensions to which different groups of workers may establish entitlement reflects the rate of contribution payable. Self-employed people are liable for PRSI at the Class S rate of 3% and are consequently eligible for a narrower range of benefits than general employees who, together with their employers, pay a total social insurance contribution of 14.05%, excluding levies, under the full-rate PRSI Class A.

Self-employed workers are not insured against short-term benefits such as illness and jobseeker's payments – these are only available to persons covered by PRSI Classes A, E, H and P. This reflects the need for coverage for various contingencies, the rate of contributions that self-employed persons pay, the practicalities of administering and controlling access to short-term payments and the annualised system of contributions that these same persons enjoy. A system of separate arrangements for employed and self-employed workers within a social insurance context is common in other European social protection systems.

There are no immediate plans to extend cover for short-term benefits to this group of insured workers. Any such measure would have significant financial implications and would have to be considered within a budgetary context. Consideration would also have to be given to an appropriate increase in the rate of the PRSI Class S contribution. Self-employed workers who do not qualify for an insurance-based benefit may establish entitlement to assistance-based payments such as Jobseekers Allowance by satisfying certain conditions including a means test.

Self-employed people can apply for the means-tested Jobseeker's Allowance if their business ceases or if they are on low income as a result of a downturn in demand for their services. Their means would be taken as any net profit that they will earn in the coming 12 months. While their income from the previous 12 months is used as an indication in estimating their likely future earnings, it is not simply assumed that the previous year's earnings will be received in the coming year. Instead, account is taken of the potential for significant upward or downward variations in income from one year to the next.