Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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490. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if supplementary welfare is a qualifying payment for eligibility under the JobBridge scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9660/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme, was introduced in July 2011 in response to the unprecedented collapse in the economy - particularly the sharp increase in unemployment.

The aim of the scheme is to provide unemployed people with the opportunity to secure work experience and to prove their competence to prospective employers, thereby breaking the vicious cycle of “no work, no experience; no experience, no work”.

To be eligible to participate, candidates must be in receipt of one of a number of specified social welfare payments immediately prior to commencement; and for at least 3 of the preceding 6 months. In order to allocate scarce Exchequer resources at those most in need, eligibility was initially confined to unemployed people on the Live Register, but has been gradually expanded over the past years to include persons in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseekers Benefit, One Parent Family Payment, Disability Allowance, Jobseekers Transitional Payment, Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory/Non-Contributory Pension, Deserted Wives Benefit, Deserted Wives Allowance, Blind Persons Pension or signing for credits, for at least 3 of the last 6 months (78 Days).

Time spent on Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) whilst awaiting payment of a primary qualifying social welfare payment is counted towards eligibility for the JobBridge scheme.

Further information on eligibility criteria is available on the JobBridge website at www.jobbridge.ie.