Vol. 438 No. 5
120 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of officers of his Department who have been assigned to encourage business-start-up under the new back to work scheme; whether these staff have been given special training in relation to enterprise start-up; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
My Department does not operate business start-up as suggested by the Deputy. Our concern is to facilitate our customers who are seeking opportunities to enter the workforce. We do this through a variety of schemes and options including second chance education, self-employment, part-time and voluntary and community work initiatives, and PRSL exemption schemes.
In this context I have introduced job facilitators to enhance our service to our unemployed customers and ensure the closest possible liaison with State services in the interests of the unemployed.
Eight regional co-ordinators and ten job facilitators have so far been appointed at local level. These officers were recruited from within my Department on the basis of their considerable experience in assisting unemployed people. The regionalisation of social welfare services which I introduced has afforded my Department the opportunity to build up very strong links with local communities, and local employers and business interests as evidenced by the Students Summer Jobs Scheme, where almost 5,000 students were placed with over 2,000 local voluntary and community groups.
Under the Back-to-Work Allowance Scheme which I introduced participants retain a proportion of their payment entitlements and certain secondary benefits for two years while trying out opportunities in indigenous industry, self employment and work with voluntary and community groups.
Over 800 new jobs have been approved to date under the scheme and 550 people who formerly received either unemployment assistance or Lone Parent's Allowance are participating in it. Almost 80 per cent of participants are pursuing a wide variety of self-employment projects.
