Vol. 423 No. 2
1 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Labour if he has satisfied himself with the take-up to date of the new schemes announced by the Government to encourage employers to take workers off the dole, and to provide in-house training places; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
11 Mr. Pattison asked the Minister for Labour if his attention has been drawn to the very low take up of the two employment incentive schemes which are heavily financed by the Department of Finance; if he has any proposals to review the onerous and demanding regulations which were drawn up by the Department of Finance in conjunction with his Department to administer these two schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
15 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Labour the number of places it was projected would be available for the Job Training Scheme when it was first announced; the number of places taken up so far; the amount of EC money available for the scheme and the amount taken up so far; his views on the future of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
27 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Labour the number of places it was projected would be available for the Employment Subsidy Scheme when it was first announced; the number of places taken up so far; the amount of EC money available for the scheme and the amount taken up so far; his views on the future prospects for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
33 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for Labour if he will outline the number of persons placed in employment under the Employment Subsidy Scheme since its establishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
38 Mr. G. O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Labour the take up under the revised Employment Subsidy Scheme; the total number to date accepted under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
40 Mr. T. O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Labour the additional numbers recruited under the Subsidised Training Scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
52 Mr. Kavanagh asked the Minister for Labour the total number of applications to date in respect of employees under the Government's Employment Subsidy Scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Question Nos. 1, 11, 15, 27, 33, 38, 40 and 52 together.
The target set for the Employment Subsidy Scheme was 15,000 while that for the Job Training Scheme was 10,000. A total of £23 million EC aid was made available for the two schemes in 1992. It was agreed when the EC funding was put in place that the operation and funding of the schemes would be reviewed by Irish and EC officials in the autumn and this review will in fact be undertaken this month.
Up to 2 October 1992 over 3,300 employers had applied to participate in the Employment Subsidy Scheme and 3,543 employees were recruited under the scheme by that date. Average recruitment on the scheme over the past month was 200 per week, which represents a significant improvement on the corresponding figures in the earlier period of the operation of the scheme. Nevertheless, I am disappointed at the level of take-up to date. I hope that, in conjunction with the Employers' PRSI Exemption Scheme announced last month, recruitment levels can be further improved.
Up to 2 October 1992, 143 trainees had been recruited under the Job Training Scheme. This level of recruitment is most disappointing. I recently announced a range of changes to the scheme following discussions with employers and trade unions designed to achieve an increased level of participation on the JTS. Among other things these changes allow unemployed persons not on the live register to participate in the scheme. In addition, employers may now design their own training programme based on guidelines drawn up by FÁS. The changes also provide for greater flexibility in the duration of training.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to employers to take advantage of the Employment Subsidy Scheme and recruit additional employees from the live register and to provide training opportunities under the Job Training Scheme for young people trying to get a foothold in the labour market.
Would the Minister not agree that this is an extremely disappointing outturn for what was the flagship of the response by his Department to growing unemployment? Does the Minister not agree that the 200 people per week who are availing of the employment subsidy compares very poorly with the 7,000 people per week who leave the live register, as it would seem that only a tiny fraction of those who are finding work are availing of this scheme? Does the Minister accept that the scheme has been too bureaucratic in its operation and that there have been too many changes of mind — for instance, in relation to tax clearance certificates — to make this accessible to people?
I would not like the Deputy to have the impression that all of the 7,000 people leaving the live register every week are not finding work. We have a fluid labour market. It is wrong to suggest that only 200 out of 7,000 are taking up employment.
The scheme is an EC assisted scheme. The criteria laid down require the consent and approval of the EC. Because the take up in the JTS was not what we would have liked, we went back to the European Commission for consent to some of the modifications which employers were seeking. As the Deputy will realise, at the end of the day market conditions dictate the level of take up of any scheme. The general level of economic activity dictates the extent to which schemes can be successful or attractive in any given circumstances. There has been an attempt to play down the importance of the Employment Subsidy Scheme. There are 3,500 now in employment as a result of assistance under this scheme. The Deputy should be a bit more circumspect in regard to the statistics he is giving for those leaving the live register every week.
The Minister fails to understand the point, which is that there are 7,000 people each week who get jobs of some sort and only 3 per cent of the employers in question are availing of this subsidy. That suggests that the scheme is not accessible to employers who might be in a position to avail of it and that the Minister should look at it again. Does the Minister realise that the starting date of this scheme and the starting date of the Minister for Finance's scheme have not been co-ordinated and that as a result employers would be foolish at the moment to take on a person because they would sacrifice their eligibility for the PRSI relief?
Since the announcement of the PRSI exemption scheme we have not had a decrease in the number of people who are applying for the ESS. I hope the numbers applying will improve when they can take advantage of the PRSI exemption scheme and the ESS when the PRSI exemption scheme comes into operation some time later this month. In relation to the numbers who are taking up the scheme, I would remind the Deputy that this refers to full time employment only. There is a lot of movement on and off the register, which probably reflects the varying types of employment available. This scheme refers to additional full time jobs in the commercial State sector, the private sector and the voluntary sector. Because this scheme is EC funded they put down the criteria and we have to abide by it if we are to take up the funding available for the scheme.
