Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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22. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the impact of the ending the lower rate of employer's PRSI on job creation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29942/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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In May 2011, as part of the Government’s Jobs Initiative, the Minister for Finance halved the 8.5% rate of Employers PRSI in respect of employees earning up to €356 per week. The Minister signalled that this measure, which came into effect on 1 July 2011, would run until the end of 2013. The measure was forecasted to cost up to €190 million in PRSI forgone in a full year.

The Government regularly reviews the nature of supports it provides to companies and to employers, taking account of the evolving business environment and labour market conditions. When the reduced PRSI rate was introduced in 2011, the economy was at its lowest point and losing over 1,600 jobs per week. By comparison, the latest Quarterly National Household Survey figures published by the Central Statistics Office show that there was an annual increase of 42,700 people in employment in the twelve months ending in the first quarter of 2014. Subsequent to the Jobs Initiative in May 2011, the Action Plan for Jobs process has separately delivered over 600 actions across all Government Departments and many State agencies to support job creation.

Although the 8.5% rate of Employers PRSI was restored from 1 January this year for those earning up to €356 per week, this still represents a reduction on the standard Employers PRSI rate of 10.75%. The Department of Social Protection also introduced the JobsPlus scheme last year under the Action Plan for Jobs, as a new support for employers who take people from the Live Register. This scheme provides a grant of €7,500 over a two year period to an employer who recruits a person who has been on unemployed for 12 months or more. The subsidy increases to €10,000 if the person has been unemployed for 24 months or more.

The Government will continue to monitor the impact of its policies on employment and will look for further measures to reduce business costs and support employment creation in the context of the 2015 Budget and Action Plan for Jobs.