Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 356: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the jobs created by initiatives funded by her under the jobs initiative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27333/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Job creation is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. However, from my Department's perspective the Jobs Initiative announced by the Government contains additional labour market activation measures that aim to provide unemployed people with enhanced opportunities to maintain and develop their skills and competencies while also offering the possibility of securing valuable work experience. These measures will assist those seeking employment to maintain their links with the labour market while also improving their prospects of securing employment.

A key element of that initiative was the introduction by my Department of JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme (NIS), which provides at any one time 5,000 places for internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months in organisations in the private, public or community and voluntary sectors. These opportunities will provide participants with valuable work experience that will develop their skills and enhance their career prospects. As of Friday 30th September there were 1,587 interns participating on the JobBridge scheme.

In addition, as announced in the Jobs Initiative, the rate of PRSI on jobs paying up to €356 per week is now halved to 4.25%, up to end 2013. It is hoped that this measure will create new employment opportunities and that it will also safeguard the existing jobs of low paid workers. This measure came into effect on 2 July. However, it is not possible to estimate the number of jobs directly attributable to this measure as the cost of employment is only one of the factors affecting job creation, albeit an important one.