Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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181. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason participants in the Tús work placement inititative are not entitled to claim family income supplement; and her plans to review this situation. [10474/15]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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182. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if some participants in the Tús work placement initiative will be considered for an extension of the current maximum 12 month contract in order to become more employable, even on a case-by-case basis in the area of social care and other areas where the length of time it takes to become familiar with the working environment leaves very little time to gain real work place experience. [10475/15]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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183. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on permitting persons to self-refer for participation in the Tús work placement initiative, especially qualified young persons who are trying to gain some experience in their specialised area and who are unable to be accepted because of the Department's current referral system. [10476/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 181 to 183, inclusive, together.

Tús, the community work placement initiative, provides up to 8,000 short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. This initiative is designed to break the cycle of unemployment and to improve a person’s opportunities in returning to the labour market. I consider the existing 12-month period on Tús to be adequate to meet the objectives of the initiative whilst also ensuring that as many unemployed people as possible are able to benefit from it.

There are no circumstances under which a person’s term on Tús will be extended beyond 12 months and it is not in the interest of any participant that such work placements extend for prolonged periods of time.

Selection for Tús is currently undertaken by random selection conducted at local level by the Department. The selection is focused on those on the Live Register for a year or more and in receipt of a jobseekers’ payment who have more limited job or work placement opportunities. From 1 April, the opportunity for voluntary or self-selection will be made available, with selection based on a combination of random selection and referrals for recruitment where a jobseeker has asked to participate.

Given the nature of Tús as a work placement initiative, participants on Tús are disqualified from receiving Family Income Supplement (FIS) under Article 175(2) of Statutory Instrument No. 142 of 2007. This disqualification also applies to others programmes such as community employment, rural social scheme, and JobBridge. There are no plans to review FIS to include Tús or the other programmes.

Article 175(2) of Statutory Instrument No. 142 of 2007

Persons regarded as being in remunerative full-time employment.

175.(1) A person shall be regarded as being engaged in remunerative full time employment as an employee for the purposes of Part 6 of the Principal Act where he or she is engaged in remunerative employment which is expected to continue for a period of a minimum of 3 months, and where -

(a) the number of hours worked by him or her per fortnight is not less than 38, or

(b) the aggregate number of hours worked by him or her and his or her spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, is not less than 38 per fortnight.

(2) Notwithstanding sub-article (1), remunerative full-time employment shall not include participation on -

(a) the work placement programme within the meaning of section 142B(3),

(b) a scheme provided by the Minister and known as Community Employment, or

(d) a scheme administered by the Minister and known as -

(i) the Rural Social Scheme,

(ii) the national internship scheme,

(iii) Tús.