Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 74: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will make a statement on the proposed job subsidy scheme which is proposed to form part of the national recovery plan; the companies to which it will apply; and the way it will be funded. [27535/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is working on the detail of a Temporary Employment Subsidy Scheme. The purpose of this scheme will be to:

§ Help the economy to retain its productive capacity and help employers to retain the labour, knowledge and skills of the workforce, thereby supporting a faster return to sustainable growth;

§ Help employees to retain their jobs, and

§ Ensure that economic and fiscal stability is promoted by avoiding the costs of unemployment including statutory redundancy payments and the longer-term cost of social welfare.

It is proposed that the scheme will involve paying a subsidy to firms to retain a person in employment who may otherwise have been made redundant.

It is proposed that the Temporary Employment Subsidy Scheme will apply to companies in the manufacturing or internationally traded service sectors that are currently engaged in exporting. In addition in order to qualify for support it is intended that a company must not have been in difficulty on 1st July 2008, and a financial assessment must establish that it is now facing such difficulties as a result of the global and financial economic crisis that redundancies are likely to have to be considered within 12 months. It is also intended that a company must also be judged to be viable and capable of growth in the medium term in order to receive support under the scheme.

In the discussions with the Social Partners a figure of €250 million was referred to in relation to this scheme.

The Government will continue these discussions with the Social Partners with a view to implementing the Temporary Employment Subsidy Scheme over the coming period.