asked the Minister for Labour the amount of money given to the banking industry under the employment incentive scheme since the commencement of the scheme.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment Incentive Scheme.
1.
To date a total of £458,334 has been paid under the employment incentive scheme in respect of additional employment in the banking industry. This represents 5 per cent of the total payments under the scheme.
Is the Minister aware of criticisms that have been made in regard to the scheme to the effect that some employers are using it as a source of cheap temporary labour rather than as a genuine avenue to employment? Can the Minister indicate whether many of the people employed by the banks under this scheme are given permanent employment by those banks?
I suspect that the Deputy is mixing up the schemes and that the criticism to which he refers relates to another scheme. The work experience programme is the one to which I think the Deputy is referring. However, regarding the supplementary, I have noticed some of the criticism referred to. We investigate any criticism that is made in this way and we have found occasional abuses of the scheme. However, the success of the scheme far outweighs the few small criticisms that have been offered against it. The scheme has been in operation only since September 1978, but up to the end of September 1979 placement under the scheme was 80 per cent in terms of permanent employment with about half of those placed being placed in the firms and companies in which they were gaining experience. The scheme has been extremely successful.
Would the Minister agree that the way in which the scheme is worked has meant that during the period in question the banks have been able to increase their profits by the amount paid to them under the scheme?
What has the Deputy got against the banks?
I would emphasise that the scheme is based on putting more people to work. It is oriented towards putting more young people and more unemployed people into the work force. The scheme has been responsible for people being employed earlier and in greater numbers in all types of industry than would have been the case otherwise.
I wish to add my support for the scheme. Can the Minister say how many jobs were created as a result of this scheme last year?
How many jobs were created in the banks, for instance, as a result of the scheme?
Up to the week ended 25 January, the total numbers of people employed under the scheme were 11,779 adults and 8,737 school leavers. I do not have details of the breakdown that the Deputy asks for.
Is the Minister prepared to join with me in congratulating Deputy Michael O'Leary for having introduced the scheme but why have the estimates for the scheme been reduced drastically in the budget?
I am sorry that the Deputy was not here during my contribution to the debate on the budget when I explained very clearly that not only is the money involved equal to what was involved last year but that it is slightly more and that in addition there are other funds available in respect of that scheme. For instance, as a result of my efforts at Council of Ministers meeting there is a contribution to the scheme from the European Social Fund in respect of the younger section.
Now we can believe that two and two make 22.
Little Jack Horner sat in the corner.