Vol. 472 No. 8
109 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Welfare the steps, if any, which can be taken to assist job initiative scheme applicants who were informed that they would qualify for a family income supplement and keep their dependants' allowances for 13 weeks, but who now find that they are ineligible for these allowances when starting the job initiative scheme. [24207/96]
The jobs initiative is a scheme operated by the Department of Enterprise and Employment which seeks to provide direct employment opportunities to those among the long-term unemployed for whom access to the labour market is currently extremely limited. The scheme is confined to those on the live register aged 35 years or over who have been in receipt of an unemployment payment or lone parent's allowance for at least five years.
Under the scheme, participants can qualify for family income supplement in the same way as other workers and may retain entitlement to child dependant allowances for 13 weeks in accordance with the terms of the Social Welfare Act, 1996.
While these arrangements are generally operating satisfactorily, I understand that some concerns have been expressed as regards the retention of child dependant allowances in cases where participants seek to move from community employment direct to the jobs initiative. In such circumstances, the relevant legislative provisions require that, in order to qualify for the retention of child dependant allowances, applicants must be in receipt of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance for not less than one year in the period immediately preceding the retention of the child dependant allowances. I have asked my Department to give urgent consideration to the question of people moving from community employment to the jobs initiative also qualifying for the retention of child dependant allowances.
