Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Question:31. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of the implementation of the Youth Guarantee. [7086/17]
View answerYouth Guarantee
Questions (31)
Written answers
The Government’s primary strategy to reduce youth unemployment is through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people. This strategy has been succeeding; by the third quarter of 2016 the number of people in employment was up by 200,000 from the lowest level reached in 2012. The youth unemployment rate has fallen from 31.1% in July 2012 to 13.5% in January 2017. The actual number of young unemployed has fallen from 70,000 to 27,500 over this period. Having being far above typical EU levels, Irish youth unemployment is now significantly below the EU average – which was 18.6% at the end of 2016.
Policies to reduce youth unemployment, framed in the context of the EU Recommendation on a Youth Guarantee, concentrate assistance to young people in finding and securing sustainable jobs. To this end there is monthly engagement by case officers with all young unemployed to facilitate their return to employment. For those who do not find employment, additional offers are provided for. Most such offers (over 70%) are in further education or training. Others are in community-based employment programmes such as CE, Gateway and Tus, or through the JobsPlus employment subsidy for private employment.
Places on most of these programmes are demand led, and take-up by young people has fallen in line with the substantial fall in youth unemployment. The number of young people entering the programmes was 23,000 in 2014 and 19,000 in 2015. Final figures for 2016 are not yet available, but are expected to show a further fall on the 2015 level.
I am confident that the measures taken under the Youth Guarantee, together with the continuing economic recovery, will support further reductions in youth unemployment.
Questions Nos. 32 to 38, inclusive, answered orally.
Social Welfare Benefits
Questions (39)
Thomas Pringle
Question:39. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of the review being carried out on the effects that cuts to relevant social protection payments have had on seasonal workers in counties such as Donegal; when the review is likely to be completed and published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8478/17]
View answerWritten answers
During the Dáil report stage debate on the Social Welfare Bill 2016, I agreed that I would ask my officials to examine the issue of jobseeker’s benefit and the treatment of part-time and seasonal workers, including those categorised as having subsidiary employment. Work has commenced with a view to having a report ready by the end of March / early April 2017. This report will be presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection for their consideration. This timeframe for this report is ambitious but I am committed to producing the report as quickly as possible. It is important in the interests of equity and fairness that the conditions for receipt of jobseeker’s benefit apply to all recipients, including those who could be categorised as seasonal and part-time workers.
Where a person exhausts his or her entitlement to jobseeker’s benefit, he or she must pay 13 additional PRSI contributions to requalify. If a seasonal or a part time worker meets this requirement they may requalify for jobseeker’s benefit.
This requirement is in place to ensure the person has a reasonable connection with the labour market before he or she can requalify. If a person does not re-qualify for jobseeker’s benefit or has used up his or her entitlement to jobseeker's benefit, then he or she can apply for jobseeker’s allowance, which is a means-based payment paid at the same weekly rate as jobseeker’s benefit.
Question No. 40 answered orally.