asked the Minister for Labour if persons who are in receipt of unemployment benefit for the necessary 13 week period but who are on short time working will be eligible for the enterprise allowance scheme; and if he will consider making such cases eligible as in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Wexford.
Written Answers. - Enterprise Allowance Scheme.
172.
The purpose of the enterprise allowance scheme is to encourage unemployed persons to establish their own businesses. Persons on short time are persons whose normal working hours have been reduced and whose income is supported by unemployment payments.
Persons who avail of part time work for three days or less per week and who are otherwise unemployed are regarded as part time unemployed. The person referred to in the question was in this category up until 3 May 1986 but has been full time unemployed since 4 May 1986.
Short time and part time workers are underemployed rather than unemployed. The scheme is designed to be, as far as possible, self-financing and in those circumstances, short time and part time workers have been excluded from eligibility.