Vol. 441 No. 8
39 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Social Welfare the arrangements his Department has with the regional health boards to ensure that participants in the back to work allowance scheme are given their appropriate entitlements under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
In October 1993, I introduced a back to work allowance scheme to create and encourage additional employment opportunities for unemployed persons and for lone parents. This new scheme provides unemployed people with the opportunity to try their hand at self-employment ventures or try out work in areas earmarked for development such as fisheries, local heritage projects, crafts enterprise, local tourism, horticulture, community development and work with voluntary organisations.
People who participate in the scheme receive 75 per cent of their weekly social welfare entitlement for the first year of payment and 50 per cent for the second year. In addition, they are allowed to retain any secondary benefits, to which they were automatically entitled when they were in receipt of a social welfare payment. My Department advised all health boards in November 1993, that participants on the back-to-school scheme are entitled to retain all secondary benefits to which they were entitled prior to participation on the scheme provided that the combination of income from employment or self employment, the back-to-work allowance and family income supplement is less than £250 gross per week.
