Vol. 397 No. 5
44 Mr. Moynihan asked the Minister for Labour the reason the enterprise scheme is being phased out; if this is based on any scientific assessment of the effectiveness of the scheme; if so, if he will publish the results of such assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I would like to inform the Deputy that there are no plans to phase out the enterprise scheme. There have, however, been some changes in the operation of the scheme which I announced last September. Allowances paid to participants have been increased from £30 to £40 per week for participants without dependants and from £50 to £65 per week for those with dependants while the duration of payment has been reduced from 52 to 40 weeks in order to give greater financial assistance at the start up phase of enterprises. The scheme has also been integrated with FÁS training programmes whereby participants normally undergo FÁS training before commencing on the enterprise scheme.
