Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 268: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she is considering any initiatives to incentivise the hiring of unemployed persons on the live register in areas that have exceptionally high unemployment and in sectors and companies with seemingly low employment rates of persons coming off the Irish live register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37286/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Issues associated with the creation of employment opportunities are for my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the first instance. However, as part of the overall Government approach to unemployment, 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.

These include the back to education allowance scheme, employer job (PRSI) incentive scheme, Tús - the new community work placement initiative, JobBridge - the National Internship Scheme, and a network of Facilitators at a local level who work with social welfare recipients to identify appropriate training or development programmes for them. In addition, from July 2, the rate of employers PRSI on jobs paying up to €356 per week has been halved to 4.25%, up to end 2013. These measures support people who are unemployed in acquiring the education and skills and work experience that will assist them in returning to employment while measures such as the PRSI reduction will encourage employers to new employment.

In this context it may be noted that, despite the rise in the number of long-term unemployed, for many unemployed people unemployment is a short-term experience. Significant numbers of people leave the live register for work and for other reasons. For example, 58,813 people left the live register in September 2011 with 22,694 of these leaving to take up employment.

The National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) process is a key element in addressing the progression needs of those on the live register. It provides an opportunity to explore and access, under professional guidance, a full range of employment and training services. Development of the NEAP is central to ongoing development in the labour market policy area and will be progressed within the framework of a new National Employment and Entitlements Service which, as provided for in the Programme for Government, is being established by the Department. The new service will integrate employment and benefit payment services, currently delivered by FÁS and the Department, respectively, within the Department and will be based on a case management approach with the objective of providing a more customised and personal service to customers, at regional and local level.

The introduction of further measures with regard to unemployment would be for Government to consider in a Budgetary context.