Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is committed to providing employment supports to all who need them. This includes providing targeted measures to those most distant from the labour market, including women.

In July of this year, I launched Pathways to Work 2021-2025; Government’s national employment services strategy and the overall framework for activation and employment support policy. The development of this strategy included an extensive consultation process. This included a series of regional events and a public consultation component, made up of an open call for submissions and an online survey open to all individuals and organisations who wished to contribute. Furthermore, my Department engaged bilaterally with other Government Departments and community and voluntary organisations. The Labour Market Advisory Council (LMAC) was also consulted during this process. 

The aim of Pathways to Work 2021-2025 is to assist people back to work as the economy and labour market recovers from COVID-19.  Men and women have equal access to any of my Department's active labour market programmes, Pathways is designed to support those unemployed before the pandemic, those looking to return to work or join the workforce and those facing additional barriers to work, in order to promote better employment outcomes for all.  

In this regard, the strategy’s fourth strand, ‘Working for All - Leaving No One Behind’ contains a number of specific commitments to increase labour market participation of lone parents, and others most distant from the labour market. In addition, the strategy recognises that there are those who, while not traditionally considered unemployed, are not in employment but would like support in getting a job. This includes workforce returners and those with caring responsibilities, many of whom are women. Pathways to Work also commits to developing and operating ‘returner’ programmes to encourage and support people who left the workforce and have been outside of the workforce for some time to take up employment.

Given the range of supports provided for under Pathways to Work, I do not plan to develop a new activation plan at present. I am satisfied that the Pathways to Work strategy supports the labour market participation of all groups in society including women. However, it should be noted that due to the dynamic context in which Pathways to Work was drafted and launched, the strategy will undergo a mid-term review in 2023. This will provide an opportunity for us to take stock, assess progress and set new targets and commitments for the remainder of the strategy’s lifetime.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.