John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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313. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the implications of the proposed new working family payment scheme for the family income supplement scheme, the back-to-work family dividend and the rules governing the permissibility of work and earnings disregards of other working age payment schemes; if it is to replace any or all of these payments and if so, if the total number of recipients of an in-work welfare support will increase or decrease; if so, by how much; and if it is envisaged that the total social protection spend supplementing paid employment will increase or decrease, and if so, by how much. [14672/16]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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314. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the approximate timeframe within which he envisages introducing the Government's proposed working family payment scheme. [14673/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 313 and 314 together.

I recognise the important role played by the Family Income Supplement (FIS) in providing extra financial supports for 56,000 working families. The FIS scheme provides strong financial incentives for many families in availing of employment opportunities.

I have asked my officials to commence work on a proposed Working Family Payment which will seek to ensure that working families always have an incentive to transition from welfare to employment.

Considerable work and analysis needs to be done and it is therefore not possible to provide any further detail on the scheme at this stage.