Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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687. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if workers participating on the job initiative scheme can remain in employment after reaching 66 years of age; the maximum age a person can remain on the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17586/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Job Initiative (JI) programme provides full-time employment for people 35 years of age or over who qualified for the scheme having been unemployed for a minimum of 5 years. The Department provides financial support in the form of allowances and funding to assist with the JI programme including JI participant and team leader wages, materials and overheads grants.

Following a review of employment schemes in 2004, new recruitment onto Job Initiative (JI) ceased with effect from 10th November of that year. Current JI participants on the programme remain eligible to have their contracts renewed by the Managing Agent on an annual basis.

JI was established as a working age activation scheme and participants who continue to be funded through JI must therefore be of working age. As a consequence funding for JI participants is provided until the participant reaches 66, which is currently the state pension age. Thereafter JI participants may apply for a state pension upon retirement from the JI programme.

It is therefore not the Department's intention to extend participation on JI beyond the state retirement age which is currently set at 66.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.