Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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582. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection extent of long term unemployment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8818/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Government policy to reduce unemployment is twofold. First, through policies set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs; and second, through Pathways to Work to ensure that as many of these new jobs and other vacancies that arise in our economy are filled by people taken from the Live Register, and in particular the long-term unemployed.

To date, these policies have been effective in reducing long-term unemployment. For example, the most recent data show that the rate of long-term unemployment in Ireland has fallen from a peak of 9.5% in 2012 to 2.8%. in Q3, 2017. This downward trend indicates that Ireland is well on course to bring long-term unemployment below 2.5% in accordance with Pathways to Work targets for 2020, and maybe even improve on it.

Policy continues to focus on support for the long-term unemployed. For example, the Pathways to Work 2016-2020 strategy prioritises long-term unemployed people – most notably through the roll-out of JobPath to engage more systematically with this group; through targeted wage subsidies under JobsPlus; and through reserved places for long-term unemployed jobseekers on employment and training programmes.

I am confident these measures, and continuing economic recovery, will support further reductions in long-term unemployment and add to the substantial improvements that have already been seen over the last few years.