Róisín Shortall
Question:136. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the way in which under current employment law a quota of local jobs can be reserved for local unemployed persons. [5293/16]
View answerTuesday, 22 March 2016
Questions (136)
Written answers
The recruitment of employees is one of the most important functions in any business and ultimately it is the employer that must decide what employee or number of employees they will employ. Ireland’s body of employment rights legislation protects all employees who are legally employed on an employer-employee basis. Therefore, once it is clear that a person is working under a contract of employment (written or verbal), on a full-time or part-time basis, that person has the same protection under employment law as other employees.
Article 45 of the EU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) specifically highlights “the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.” Ireland has supported this principle of non-discrimination as part of the Freedom of Movement of Workers since our accession to the EEC in 1973. However, within these legal parameters, the Government has pursued a number of policies aimed at boosting local employment and helping unemployed persons in progressing to work.
Intreo, under the remit of my colleague the Minister for Social Protection, provides a single point of contact for all employment and income supports. Designed to provide a more streamlined approach, Intreo offers practical, tailored employment services and supports for jobseekers and employers alike. Intreo provides a wide range of supports and services to assist employers with their employment needs, designed to make sure that employers can access potential employees. Jobseekers are provided with guidance support and a Personal Progression Plan detailing the individual supports and training and education options and actions towards finding a job.
JobsPlus is one specific employer incentive which encourages and rewards employers who employ jobseekers on the Live Register. It is designed to encourage employers and businesses to employ people who have been out of work for long periods. It provides for a payment of €7,500 for each person recruited who has been unemployed for more than 12 but less than 24 months and a payment of €10,000 for each person recruited who has been unemployed for more than 24 months.
Since September 2013, a Protocol has been in effect between the Department of Social Protection, my Department and the Enterprise Agencies, with the aim of maximising recruitment by client companies of the enterprise agencies from the Live Register. This Protocol, implemented in the context of the Pathways to Work strategy, has had the added benefit of enhancing local networks and highlighting employment opportunities in enterprise agency clients in communities throughout Ireland.
In recent months, I have launched eight Regional Action Plans for Jobs aimed at using the strengths of each particular region to grow employment over the next three years. Targeted supports for local enterprises and local job creation can ensure that employment growth is spread more evenly throughout the country. These plans are being supported by funding of €250 million over five years to ensure implementation and the establishment of regional frameworks for employment growth.
Through all of these policies, the Government is working to equip local communities with opportunities to enable the unemployed to find meaningful and sustainable work.