Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will introduce improved structures to incentivise social welfare recipients to work in the caring sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51522/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Government will continue to ensure that the social protection system incentivises rather than blocks the return to work for unemployed people, including those with families. This holds for all sectors of the labour market, including the care sector.

Incentivising the take-up of employment is essentially being achieved by three means:-

- First, the Government is determined to continue to reform the tax and social welfare system to ensure that a person who takes up employment is significantly better off financially then if they remained on social welfare. Our current Jobseekers Benefit and Jobseekers Allowance payments are already designed in such a way as to ensure that persons are incentivised to take up either full-time or part-time employment. This is achieved by a gradual tapering of the social welfare payment for people who take up part-time employment. Currently, a person can work up to three days and still have an entitlement to a reduced social welfare payment, with the reduction in the social welfare payment tapered in line with a person’s increase in earnings from work. A person who wishes to work on a part-time basis over a period in excess of three days per week can avail of the Part Time Job Incentive Scheme or the Family Income Supplement Scheme. People who are more than 12 months unemployed are also entitled to an increased personal tax credit in certain circumstances further increasing the returns to work.

In addition, reforms to the jobseekers’ schemes are being introduced to ensure that people in part-time employment are incentivised to take up full-time employment as such opportunities become available. This includes rebasing the payment week for jobseeker’s benefit on a five-day week rather than the previous six-day week basis where a person is working for part of the week. This measure was introduced in July 2012. And from February 2013 employment on a Sunday will be taken into account when determining the level of entitlement to jobseeker’s payments. The recognition of Sunday working from the perspective of jobseeker’s allowance and benefit will reduce the amount of jobseeker’s payable to casual workers and thereby encourage workers to take up offers of full-time employment rather than combining part-time employment with social welfare payments.

In a further effort to improve the financial incentive to take up employment, the Government has halved the lower rate of PRSI until end-2013 on jobs that pay up to €356 per week and exempted low-paid, part-time and seasonal workers with an annual income of less than €10,036 from the Universal Social Charge (increased from €4,004).

The Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare is examining issues around the operation and interaction of the tax and social welfare systems and may also recommend further measures to improve incentives to take up employment.

- Second, the Government is incentivising employers to hire the long-term unemployed. The Government has introduced a range of reforms and incentives to support, protect and create jobs, including through the Jobs Initiative in May 2011 which among other measures reduced VAT rates for labour intensive sectors. The Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme is available to employers who hire persons who have been in receipt of specified social welfare payments for a period of six months or more and the Revenue Tax Assist Scheme is available to employers who hire a person in receipt of those benefits for in excess of 12 months. This scheme, which provides a double tax relief for employers, also provides increased tax credits for the employee.

- Third, with the unemployed via the roll-out of the new one-stop-shop Intreo offices which were launched in October. Interventions will include referral to group engagement, one-to-one interviews, education and/or training and placement/work experience opportunities at appropriate intervals. In addition, the Department of Social Protection will continue to implement its powers to sanction individuals in the form of reduced social welfare rates, if they fail to make a meaningful effort to engage in efforts to progress towards employment.