Vol. 484 No. 4
99 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of people nation-wide and on a county basis who have been refused the back to work allowance scheme since it was introduced due to their applications not being received prior to commencing employment as they were not informed of their entitlement to the scheme; and the plans, if any, he has to address this problem. [22418/97]
Since the back to work allowance was introduced in October 1993, approximately 2,500 late applications have been disallowed. A breakdown on a county basis is not available.
I should point out that the back to work allowance has a limited number of places and is intended to encourage people who are long-term unemployed to decide to return to the workforce. It is a requirement of the scheme that an applicant must apply for the allowance prior to taking up employment.
Information on the back to work allowance is widely available and the scheme has been widely advertised and publicised, including a series of advertisements which ran on national television in April and May last. The Department's jobs facilitators are actively involved in promoting the scheme among the unemployed and with the various other agencies involved.
100 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs whether a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be approved for the back to work allowance scheme in view of the fact that he had no knowledge of the scheme prior to commencing work. [22421/97]
The objective of the back to work allowance scheme is to provide a financial incentive to long-term unemployed people to return to work. The scheme has a limited number of places and is targeted at people who need an additional financial incentive to return to the workforce. It is a requirement of the scheme that an applicant must apply for the allowance prior to taking up employment.
The person concerned took up employment on 1 September 1997 but did not apply for the allowance until 17 November 1997. His application was refused on the grounds that his claim was late and that he was in a position to return to the workforce without the need for the financial incentive which the scheme provides.
