Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the supports available to help someone get back into employment who is unemployed and does not qualify for jobseeker's allowance / benefit, which precludes them from participating in Tús, community employment and other training schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6097/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection provides a broad range of employment and related supports to persons who are unemployed. These range from internships under JobBridge, work placements and training under Tús and community employment respectively and educational supports in the form of the back to education allowance and the back to enterprise allowance for those wishing to pursue self-employment options. In general, all supports provided by the Department of Social Protection to enable a person to access these opportunities are predicated on that person being in receipt of one of a range of eligible payments from the Department. A person not qualifying for a payment from the Department is unlikely to be eligible to access supports. The same eligibility criteria do not apply in the case of a number of support measures provided by the Department of Education and Skills in respect of a person pursuing education and training opportunities.

Intreo is a new service from this Department. It is a single point of contact for all employment and income supports and is designed to provide a more streamlined approach and is not determined by a person’s welfare status. Intreo offers practical, tailored employment services and supports for jobseekers and employers alike.