John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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48. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether the higher subsidies for employers who employ a person who is two years unemployed under the JobsPlus scheme as against a lower payment for persons unemployed for a shorter time will inevitably encourage employers to ignore applications from those out of work for a shorter period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43414/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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JobsPlus is a new simplified scheme which replaced the Employer Job (PRSI) Exemption (effective from 20^th June 2010) and Revenue Job Assist (which commenced on 6 April 1998) schemes and is more targeted at channelling full time job opportunities to the longer term unemployed. JobsPlus provides an immediate financial incentive to employers who recruit employees from those who are long term unemployed on the live register. The incentive is payable, on a monthly basis, over a two year period while the employee is retained in full time employment. JobsPlus is biased in favour of those who are more long term unemployed by setting the value of the incentive at two levels:

- In respect of recruits unemployed for more than 12 months but less than 24 months: €7,500.

- In respect of recruits unemployed for more than 24 months: €10,000.

While unemployment has stabilised recently, persons on the live register for a year or more now account for about 45.5% of all persons on the live register and this rate has been increasing slowly in recent months. Every new full time job supported under JobsPlus not only reduces social welfare payments made by the State, but critically reduces the payments made to the longer term unemployed people, whom evidence suggests are more likely to become dependents of welfare. In addition, these new full time workers will now contribute to the Exchequer in terms of tax and PRSI paid.