Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 March 2014
34. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will remove the restriction whereby new jobseekers are disqualified from various labour activation schemes such as JobBridge on the grounds that they have not been unemployed long enough; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10473/14]
View answerMany of the newly-unemployed find work relatively quickly and do not require substantial assistance in doing so. In 2013, for example, 36% of those joining the Live Register exited within the first three months. Eligibility periods for labour market programmes are designed to allocate scarce resources and focus assistance on those who need it most – people who have not, after some time, managed to re-enter employment by their own endeavours.
