Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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1203. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has considered extending the two year term that businesses are eligible to receive grant aid under jobs plus scheme in view of the significant financial pressure many businesses are under due to the Covid-19 pandemic and in order to retain as many jobs plus employees as possible in the workforce; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20786/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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JobsPlus is a subsidy paid to employers who recruit long-term unemployed people for new positions in their workplace. Employers can avail of JobsPlus when filling new positions or positions that arise as a consequence of natural turnover and receive a subsidy of €7,500 or €10,000 per employee. The value of the grant is dependent on the age of the new employee and their duration of unemployment, over a two-year period of employment.

All employers supported through the JobsPlus scheme will receive their full period of entitlement of 24 months. This includes business whose JobsPlus was suspended while they availed of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme during Covid related restrictions. Where an employer's JobsPlus was suspended, they can avail of the remainder of their 24 months when the supported employment restarts and they continue to satisfy the conditions of the scheme. This should ensure that this support will continue to be made to those businesses most impacted by the pandemic.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.