Written Answers. - Pilot Partnership Areas.
Richard Bruton
Question:
70
Mr. R. Bruton
asked the
Taoiseach
if his attention has been drawn to the sense of injustice felt by unemployed persons in areas of the country who are not included in the pilot partnership areas when they find that they are excluded from participating in certain job opportunities; his views on the fact that unemployed people in otherwise identical circumstances will be paid less purely because of their address, and if it would be preferable to give preference to disadvantaged areas through the number of projects supported rather than through discrimination among individuals.
Twelve partnership areas were selected to be the pilot areas for the Area Based Response to Long Term Unemployed initiative introduced under the Programme for Economic and Social Progress.
The initiative included the introduction of a range of additional measures such as the area allowances for enterprise, employment and education/ training (detailed in the following table) in the selected areas which, on the basis of successful pilot experience could be applied to other areas.
The individual schemes chosen were recommended to Government by the Task Force on Employment and specifically designed to discriminate in favour of the long-term unemployed. They focused on eliminating the disincentives faced by the long-term unemployed when moving from welfare dependency when a training or education opportunity arose.
As part of the Local Development Programme in the National Plan, 1994-1999, which I launched yesterday it is proposed to extend the number of areas based partnerships to new areas with high concentrations of long-term unemployed, and social exclusion. Details of the specific measures to be applied in the programme will be a matter for discussion with the European Commission.
Area Allowances
Area allowance — Enterprise
A person receives an allowance, equivalent to the UA/UB entitlement at the time of departure from the live register. Recently provision has been made to include lone parents as eligible, and provision for a year 2 of this programme at 75 per cent of entitlement is being finalised at the moment. Entitlement to secondary benefits is retained.
Area allowance — Employment
Family Income Supplement (FIS) is paid immediately to an eligible person from the live register who secures paid employment. Entitlement to secondary benefits is retained.
Area allowance — Education/Training
A person receives the standard FÁS, VTOS, CERT, etc., training or education allowance. In addition an area allowance calculatated by reference to an FIS formula is also paid by the Department of Social Welfare to all eligible participants on education or training schemes. Entitlement to secondary benefits is retained.
CEDP allowance
CEDP allowance is the basic allowance paid by a sponsor to a person on a Community Employment Development Programme Project. It is calculated in the same way as the Social Employment Scheme allowances. Entitlement to secondary benefits is retained.
Secondary benefits
The term is used to describe any one or more of the following: Christmas bonus, fuel allowance, butter and beef vouchers, back to school clothing and footwear allowance, medical card, local authority differential rent allowance, rent or mortgage interest supplement paid under Supplementary Welfare Allowance provisions.
