Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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244. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she expects back to work incentives to play a role in the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42158/14]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Government’s policy direction on labour market activation and stimulating employment growth is set out in Pathways to Work and the Action Plan for Jobs respectively. These policies are at the core of the Government’s strategies to get Ireland working again. The strategy outlined in Pathways to Work is devised to ensure new job opportunities are made available to people on the live register and that jobseekers are prepared to avail of work opportunities. Since the introduction of Pathways to Work, a significant transformation has already been delivered in the way the Department of Social Protection works with jobseekers and in its engagement with employers. This has resulted in the revision of a range of services and schemes including the provision of new incentives for both jobseekers and employers.

The Department operates a range of employment support measures designed to encourage and support jobseekers to return to and remain at work, establish self-employment opportunities and engage in reskilling and up-skilling. For jobseekers with families, including lone parents, entering work, financial supports are provided in the form of Family Income Supplement (FIS), to supplement income from work where this is low. Allied to this, an important new measure was announced in Budget 2015, called the Back to Work Family Dividend, which will help jobseekers and lone parents with children return to work by allowing them to retain an element of the welfare payment previously paid in respect of dependent children. The Part-Time Job Incentive Scheme is also available which allows jobseekers to take up part-time employment for less than 24 hours per week and to continue to receive a weekly income supplement.

In terms of incentives for employers, JobsPlus is a targeted financial employment subsidy designed to encourage companies to focus their recruitment activities on the long-term unemployed. At the end of September 2014, approximately 3,000 long-term jobseekers were being supported in work through the JobsPlus scheme. A further expansion of JobsPlus was announced in Budget 2015 which will allow for double the number of jobseekers to be supported.

Those jobseekers wishing to pursue a self-employment option can retain all or part of their jobseekers payment for up to two years under the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance.

There will be further enhancements to a number of schemes in the coming weeks to underpin the commitment to support young people who are unemployed as part of our National Youth Guarantee.

Details of all schemes are available on the Department’s website www.welfare.ie, at any Intreo Centre or by contacting the information section on 01 704 3000 or1890 66 22 44

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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245. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the degree to which JobBridge and-or other unemployment alleviation concepts continue to play a major role in the context of economic recovery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42159/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department’s activation measures continue to play a major role in consolidating Ireland’s economic recovery. Jobseekers continue in growing numbers to choose JobBridge internships as a means of increasing their skills and work experience and improving their chances of returning rapidly to employment. On 24th October, 2014, 34,636 jobseekers had commenced JobBridge internships. Numbers of former interns moving into employment either directly from or within a period of months after finishing their internship continues to justify the confidence of the Department and individual jobseekers in JobBridge to make a real difference in the lives of individual jobseekers and their path back to employment.

At the end of September 2014, 2,273 employers received JobsPlus payments in respect of 3,000 employees who were previously long-term jobseekers. An expansion of JobsPlus was announced in Budget 2015 which will allow for double the number of jobseekers to be supported. I will be announcing further enhancements to JobsPlus in the coming weeks to underpin the commitment to support young people who are unemployed.