Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 77: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the accumulative number of employees in each of the past five years availing of the part-time job incentive scheme and the number who joined the scheme in each of these years; the cost to the Exchequer in each of the years; the rationale for setting the qualifying criteria for a long-term unemployed person as 15 months unemployed instead of the usual 12 months unemployed; if there is a restriction on the number of participants any one employer may recruit under the scheme; if he will provide any data available to him on the assessment of the effectiveness of the scheme and to provide any data available to him on the average hourly wage or similar data on wage levels typically applying to participants in the scheme. [39519/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The part-time job incentive (PTJI) was introduced on a pilot basis in 1986 and extended nationwide in 1988. PTJI is a weekly in-work income supplement which provides an allowance for people who are in receipt of long-term unemployment assistance, of more than 390 days, and employed on a part-time basis for up to 24 hours per week, provided they continue to make efforts to find full-time work. The allowance is not taxable or subject to PRSI. There is no restriction on the number of participants an employer may recruit.

While the scheme remains open it should be noted that take-up of PTJI has generally been low. This is primarily due to the introduction and improvements in alternative, more favourable employment support measures over the years, including family income supplement. Family income supplement provides support where low-income employees with children who work more than 19 hours per week or 38 hours per fortnight receive an in-work income support. Accordingly, there have not been significant numbers of new entrants to the scheme in recent years.

All scheme participants were contacted in 2005 and advised of the existence of alternative supports. As many of these participants are over 55, it was decided to allow existing recipients to remain on the scheme, subject to scheme criteria.

Statistics on PTJI are recorded twice a year - at end of April and end of October.

At the end of April 2010 there were 158 recipients. Data on wage levels for recipients is not available.

The table below shows the expenditure and recipients of the scheme over the last five years.