Vol. 523 No. 1
206 Mr. P. Carey asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she will have examinations made into the regulations whereby a person on an invalidity pension (details supplied) in Dublin 11 can qualify for the back to work allowance scheme but will not qualify for the jobs initiative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20325/00]
Eligibility under the job initiative, JI, programme is defined in terms of age and unemployment duration. Currently only persons in receipt of unemployment assistance/benefit or a qualified adult's payment, and persons in receipt of the one parent family payment, are eligible to access JI.
The consultancy review of JI carried out on behalf of my Department in 1999 recommended that the current qualifying conditions remain unchanged for the foreseeable future, on the basis that demand for the programme would be sufficient without any alteration in the qualifying conditions. This position will be kept under review by my Department.
With effect from 12 June 2000, people in receipt of invalidity pension are automatically eligible for participation in both the community employment scheme and the social economy programme, regardless of the duration of receipt of the pension.
