Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 January 2015
46. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 171 of 16 December if she will clarify the final paragraph of her reply wherein she makes reference to the second year of a business plan; if there is an entitlement to a jobseeker's payment in the first year of the back to work enterprise allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49673/14]
View answerThe key principles of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) were set out in my December reply to the Deputy’s question. The rate of payment of BTWEA in the first year for a customer who pursues a self-employment option is equal to the full value of their previous jobseeker’s payment to which they were in receipt of prior to taking up the Allowance. Therefore, there is no particular advantage to a customer reverting to jobseekers payments during periods of slack business. The value of the BTWEA reduces to 75% of the prior payment in the second year. As indicated in my previous reply, it is likely that customers in receipt of BTWEA will be better off by the combination of the BTEWA payment and any income from their business venture, rather than reverting to a jobseeker’s payment.
