Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Independent)
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298. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to the announcement of a three point plan to take 75,000 persons off the unemployment register by 2015 referred to in a publication (details supplied), her specific actions being taken to achieve this target; if she will indicate the Minister that will have specific responsibility for the delivery of the target; the way the target will be measured; the way employment creation from other initiatives or resulting from any economic recovery will be differentiated from the employment being created as a result of his plan; the key dates for the achievement of each part of the plan; if the Minister responsible will report to Dáil Éireann on progress being made against the plan's schedule; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39109/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The target referred was first set out in the Government's policy document Pathways to Work, launched on 23rd February 2012. It relates to the 180,800 people who were on the Live Register and fully unemployed for over a year at the beginning of 2012; the objective set was that 75,000 of these would move into employment by the end of 2015. This target has been maintained in the updated Pathways to Work 2013, published on 18 July 2013. I am the Minister primarily responsible for the achievement of this and other targets set out in Pathways to Work.

Pathways to Work details a range of measures aimed at increasing active job search by the registered unemployed and ensuring that they share in the economic and employment recovery. The flow of 75,000 people from long-term unemployment into employment is one anticipated result of the taking of this range of measures rather than relating to any specific measure among them.

Movement towards this target is being monitored by tracking the subsequent experience of the 180,800 people who were in the target group as the beginning of 2012.

By the end of June 2013, 30,600 of this group were known to have moved into employment. Of these, 21,900 had entered full-time employment and left the Live Register, and 8,800 had entered part-time employment. As there can be some time lag in the reporting of new entries to employment by the relevant employers, it is likely that these figures will increase retrospectively as further records become available.

Quarterly reports on performance against the targets set in Pathways to Work are published on the Department of Social Protection's website. The report for quarter 1 (To end March 2013) is currently available on the website. The report for quarter 2 will be uploaded on the website on Monday next 30 September, commencing with a report on performance in the third quarter of 2013.