Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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Question 329: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to institute an income supplement scheme similar to family income supplement that can be availed of by citizens who are childless; if she will consider such a measure in view of the fact that many childless persons have onerous financial commitments incurred during the boom years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9223/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Family Income Supplement (FIS) provides income support for employees with families on low earnings. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might otherwise only be marginally better off than if he or she were in receipt of other social welfare payments. The question of introducing a similar scheme for persons of working age without children would have to have regard to a number of factors including the arrangements already in place to provide income support to people of working age on low incomes, through schemes such as jobseeker's allowance and the part-time job incentive scheme which is available to those who were previously on a jobseekers payment for 15 months or more and are now working under 24 hours per week while seeking full time employment; and the cost of introducing such a measure in the context of the need to prioritise the use of the limited resources available for the development of the wider social welfare system. There are no plans to introduce a scheme of the nature suggested. The introduction of such a scheme would have to be considered in a budgetary context.