Vol. 467 No. 5
116 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment his understanding of the employment subsidy scheme that was undertaken by his Department in 1993; the likely developments of such a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13755/96]
I assume the Deputy is referring to the employment subsidy scheme which involved the payment of a subsidy of £54 per week for 52 weeks, payable in instalments over a 78 week period, to employers who expanded their workforce by recruiting persons who had been signing on the live register for at least eight weeks. This was a specific and limited duration scheme agreed with the EU Commission who funded 75 per cent of the cost.
I have no plans to re-launch the scheme, but the Deputy will, no doubt, be aware that last month I launched "Jobstart", which is targeted at the very long-term unemployed, who have been identified as the groups most in need of Government assistance in order to secure work. For the purposes of the scheme, they are defined as persons who have been unemployed for three years or more. Employers will be entitled to a subsidy of £80 per week over a 52 week period in respect of each eligible recruit.
