Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection his views on a matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37864/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I understand that the Deputy is referring to a recent newspaper article by the person concerned. The article raised a number of interesting points particularly around the issues of job creation and the interaction of the employment and welfare spheres.

The article discusses whether people on the Live Register have a financial incentive to work given the level of wages available in the economy and the level of social welfare payments made to people on the Register. In this regard it should be noted that the great majority of people on the Live Register have a strong financial incentive to work and significant numbers leave the register each year. Indeed, for many unemployed people, unemployment is a short-term experience and the author of the article acknowledges that jobseeker’s supports have an important role to play in supporting people through periods of involuntary unemployment.

The issue of welfare dependency is also addressed in the article. In this area my Department is engaging with jobseekers in order to support them and their families in progressing into employment. One of the key concepts underpinning pathways to work and the new national employment and entitlements service is the relationship between the jobseeker and the Department. In accepting payment of benefit and support, the jobseeker shall agree to avail of the appropriate support measures offered during the course of the activation process, whether this is employment, education, training or placement in employment schemes.

With regard to the suggestion in the article that the Government should provide a database on which employers could, on a free of charge basis, advertise vacancies, the Department already provides such a service at . Each year approximately 70,000 vacant positions are published on this site. The site also allows jobseekers to upload their CVs onto the database and employers can then match their job requirements against the profile of the candidate CVs.

Internships of the type suggested in the article are available under the jobbridge scheme which is also managed via this computer system. The Department is currently considering how it can improve this service.

Latterly, the article proposes consideration of replacing jobseeker’s allowance with a compulsory work system. While the establishment of such a system would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the first instance, I would note that there could be significant potential for such a system to interfere with the functioning of the labour market, for example through substitution of existing work. In addition, it is difficult to see how any such system could be implemented without imposing very substantial additional costs on the Exchequer.