John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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121. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will reinstate the student summer jobs scheme which was available to students from 1993 up to the early 2000s to facilitate students that wish to remain here for the summer break and that could provide an invaluable service to sporting and community facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26466/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The students’ summer jobs scheme was first introduced in 1993 to provide income support for less well-off students who were disqualified under social welfare legislation from receiving unemployment assistance during the summer months. The scheme allowed students to take up part-time work useful to their community and to receive payment for this work. The scheme required considerable administrative effort to deliver.

Take-up was initially high, but dropped significantly as unemployment fell in the late 1990s, leading to greater and wider availability of alternative summer employment. In view of declining numbers and in order to focus available resources and administrative effort in the best possible way, it was decided to discontinue the students’ summer jobs scheme in 2003.

It remains the case that there are higher priority uses for the financial and administrative resources of the Department of Social Protection than support for summer employment for students. Schemes such as Community Employment and Tus, supporting employment in the community and voluntary sector, are concentrated on the registered unemployed, and particularly those who have been out of work for longer periods. There are no plans to reintroduce a scheme of support for summer student jobs.