Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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165. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons taking part in the JobsPlus initiative and the cost of same to the Exchequer. [43454/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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JobsPlus was launched on 8th July 2013. This is a new incentive to encourage employers to recruit and employ persons who have been unemployed for long periods. It replaced this Department’s Employer Job PRSI Incentive Scheme and the Revenue Job Assist Scheme managed by the Revenue Commissioners. Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria and creating a full-time position, employers will receive a direct monthly cash incentive over two years if the person they hire has been unemployed for a prolonged period. The level of payment is higher where a person who has been unemployed for a longer period is recruited and retained.

The Department had received applications from 2,414 jobseekers at the close of business on the 4th October 2013. Of these, 1,869 applications have been deemed eligible with 1,201 qualifying on the basis of being 24 months unemployed and, therefore, attracting a payment to an employer of €10,000 paid over two years. The remaining 668 applications are eligible for a payment of €7,500 over two years, having been unemployed for between 12 and 24 months.

The Department has processed applications from 1,229 employers at the 4th October. Of these 585 have been matched with eligible jobseekers and I expect grant payments to commence in respect of these 520 of these cases before the end of the month. The initiative is expected to operate on a pilot basis initially, with €21.25 million allocated to cover costs over three years. I anticipate that this allocation will be reviewed along with other aspects of the initiative, when it has been operational for a number of months.

Further information regarding the scheme can be found at www.jobsplus.ie