Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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52. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider creating a status analogous to being on the live register for previously self-employed persons who, following the financial crash, are now de facto long-term unemployed, enabling them to apply for positions or employment schemes, often with State agencies on a part-time or a temporary basis, where there is a stipulation that the applicant must be long-term unemployed and on the live register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9747/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Given the scale of the unemployment crisis, the key objective of activation policy and labour market initiatives is to offer assistance to those in need of support in securing work and achieving financial self-sufficiency. This policy objective prioritises scarce resources to those in receipt of qualifying welfare payments. Accordingly the employment services and schemes provided by the Department are focused, in the first instance, on this cohort of unemployed people.

People who were previously self-employed and are now in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance have access to the full range of activation measures available to other job-seeker’s allowance recipients. Access to employment or work-experience-based programmes, involving the payment of a supplement to participants’ basic jobseekers’ payments, continues to be confined to unemployed persons who are in receipt of such payments.

Unemployed persons (including those previously self-employed) not in receipt of payments – generally because they have means in excess of the allowable limits – may be eligible to avail of up-skilling opportunities, for example through ETB training or through further or higher education courses, but will not be eligible to receive a training allowance while undertaking such training. Springboard and Skillnets courses for unemployed people, funded through the Department of Education and Skills, are also open to people regardless of their social welfare status.

Many other services are also available to people who are not in receipt of a social welfare payment. For example employment services, such as advice on job-search activities and the use of online job search tools, are available to people if they register with the Department’s employment services offices regardless of their social welfare status.

There are no plans to create a new live register status for jobseekers (including previously self-employed persons) who are not in receipt of jobseekers’ payments.