Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 70: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason the position in human resources in relation to the setting up of Tús is restricted only to persons who have been unemployed for 12 months or more; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11000/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The then Minister for Finance announced the introduction of a community work placement initiative for up to 5,000 persons in his Budget statement to Dáil Éireann on the 7th December 2010. The initiative, known as Tús, was launched on the 21st December 2010 and work on developing the necessary implementation structures, including running trials, has been underway since then.

The aim of Tús is to provide short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. The criteria applying to recruitment to the supervisor/team leader position and to the selection of participants for work placements is the same and are that a person must satisfy the following conditions:

· A person must be unemployed and in receipt of a jobseeker's payment for at least 12 months, and

· Currently in receipt of jobseekers allowance, and

· Fully unemployed.

The criteria will ensure that the focus of Tús is on those people who are long-term unemployed. For this reason, eligibility is at present confined to those on the Live Register for 12 months and in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. These provisions are to ensure a targeted approach to those currently affected by long-term unemployment.