Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 19: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the fact that participation in JobBridge can result in the loss of fuel allowance with the effect that a household can be worse off by virtue of its participation; and if she will amend the rules of the scheme to prevent this. [29026/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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An intern participating in JobBridge will continue to receive the social welfare entitlements, including secondary entitlements such as fuel allowance, that they are entitled to immediately prior to commencing the scheme. However, during their JobBridge internship, interns will not receive additional benefits, such as fuel allowance, if they were previously not entitled to this benefit before they began their internship. This means that by participating in JobBridge, an individual will not lose an existing entitlement, such as fuel allowance, provided they were already entitled to it before commencing their internship.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 20: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the fact that JobBridge is not open to one parent family payment recipients; and if she will amend the rules of the scheme to accommodate those who wish to participate in view of the higher level of long-term welfare dependency among this category. [29027/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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In order to be eligible to participate in JobBridge the National Internship Scheme, an individual must:

currently be in receipt of a live claim (Jobseeker's Allowance/Jobseekers Benefit/Signing for Social Insurance Contribution Credits) on the Live Register;

have been in receipt of Jobseeker's Benefit, Jobseekers Allowance or signing for Social Insurance Contribution Credits for a total of 78 days or more in the last 6 months.

Given the scale of the unemployment crisis, one of the key objectives of labour market policy is to keep those on the Live Register close to the labour market and prevent their drift into long-term unemployment. For these reasons, the eligibility for the JobBridge scheme is confined to those on the Live Register.

The policy objective for this scheme is to concentrate on those on the Live Register so as to increase their chances of leaving it and ensure a reduction in exchequer costs over time. Individuals in receipt of One Parent Family Payment may access a wide range of activation supports including the FÁS Work Placement Programme, which is designed to provide participants with valuable work experience, thereby improving their prospects of securing employment.