Written answers

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Department of Social Protection

Departmental Schemes

9:00 pm

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of citizens seeking work who are supported by the various work support schemes administered by her at present; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9947/11]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection operates a range of employment support measures designed to encourage and support social welfare recipients of working age to reduce their dependency on welfare payments. Supports available include the back to work schemes, community initiatives and the part time job incentive scheme. The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) is designed to provide a monetary incentive for people who are long term dependant on social welfare payments to make engagement in self-employment financially attractive and viable, while allowing them to retain a reducing proportion of their qualifying social welfare payment over two years (100% in year 1 and 75% in year 2). The Short Term Enterprise Allowance (STEA) is payable to a person who qualifies for Jobseeker's Benefit and who wishes to commence in self employment and is payable for the duration of their Jobseeker's Benefit entitlement. At the end of March 2011, there were 8,789 participants in the BTWEA scheme, 632 people availing of the back to work employee strand, which is closed to new applications since 1 May 2009, and 1,206 participants in the STEA.

The Rural Social Scheme (RSS), Community Services Programme (CSP) and Tús are community initiatives administered by the Department that provide income support and employment opportunities through the delivery of services to the community. There are 2,600 participants engaged in the RSS, which provides income support for farmers and fishermen/women who are currently in receipt of specified Social Welfare payments, to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. There are 2,700 people engaged in the CSP, which supports the delivery of good quality local services in areas such as management of community facilities, operating community enterprises and operating community services that address disadvantage, while providing funding to employ people with limited work opportunities.

Tús is a new initiative, announced in the Budget of December 2010, which will be an important element in the delivery of employment and community services and which aims to provide short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed and provide certain services of benefit to communities. The scheme aims to provide for the phased placement of 5,000 people in the community and voluntary sector.

A part-time job incentive scheme is also available which allows persons who are long-term unemployed to take up part-time employment for less than 24 hours per week and receive a weekly income supplement. There were 161 participants on this scheme at the end of March 2011.

FÁS also operates a range of training and employment programmes in co-operation with community, voluntary and statutory organisations, including, principally, the Community Employment (CE) programme and the Work Placement Programme (WPP). The CE programme is designed to help people who are long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged people to get back to work by offering part-time and temporary placements in jobs based within local communities. There are 23,300 places available in 2011.

The WPP was established to provide an opportunity for people who are unemployed to take up voluntary, unpaid work experience placements within companies. Following a Government Decision in November 2010, an enhanced work placement programme involving 5,000 placements in the public sector and an additional 500 placements for graduates in the private sector was approved. As of 31 March 2011, FÁS recorded a total of 1,804 participants on the WPP. In addition, FÁS were advertising 1,321 opportunities for the WPP waiting to be filled.

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of training places to be filled under the present activation programme; her plans to change or develop this programme in the coming months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9949/11]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The National Employment Action Plan is the main activation measure for jobseekers and provides for a systematic engagement of the employment services with unemployed people. Under the Plan, all persons between the ages of 18 and 65 years who are approaching three months on the Live Register are identified by the Department of Social Protection and referred to FÁS for interview with the aim of assisting them to enter/re-enter the labour market.

The Employment Action plan process is a key element in addressing the progression needs of those on the Live Register. It provides a stimulus to job search and affords an opportunity to explore, under professional guidance, the full range of employment and training services offered by FÁS. In this context, FÁS will deliver at least 90,000 training places for the unemployed in 2011.

The Department of Social Protection also operates a range of employment support measures designed to encourage and support social welfare recipients of working age to reduce their dependency on welfare payments. These include the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) and the Short Term Enterprise Allowance. In addition, the Back to Education Allowance scheme (BTEA) encourages and facilitates people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force.

The Programme for Government states that a new National Employment and Entitlements Service will be established under the management of the Department of Social Protection. The objective is to integrate the employment support services currently provided directly by the Department of Social Protection with those currently provided by FÁS into a single service. This service will also process payments in respect of employment related benefits and other benefits payable by the Department of Social Protection. The integration of employment services and related benefit payment services within the Department of Social Protection will provide a 'one stop shop' for people wishing to establish their benefit entitlements, seek employment and / or seek advice about their training options. The focus will be very much on the individual, his/her rights to a payment, his/her access to an opportunity to engage in employment, training or upskilling, as appropriate and his/her responsibility to engage with such opportunities as they are provided.

A key objective of the Government in relation to the new service is that it will offer users a high level of personalised employment support and prioritise the provision of more intensive support for those on the live register who are identified as being most at risk of long-term unemployment. This will be achieved through the use of proactive approaches and modern case management systems. A number of pilot projects have already commenced in relation to the development of case management, the identification of those who are most at risk of falling into long-term unemployment, and the provision of appropriately tailored responses to their needs. These pilot projects will be completed and evaluated in the coming months after which approaches will be developed for their roll-out nationwide as part of the National Employment and Entitlements Service.

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