Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 2 Apr 1996

Vol. 463 No. 6

Written Answers. - Long-Term Unemployed.

Batt O'Keeffe

Ceist:

252 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment his views on whether the long-term unemployed are being discriminated against in view of the fact that they are not able to avail of employment which is grant aided under the county enterprise board scheme. [7148/96]

Minister for Enterprise and Employment (Mr. R. Bruton)

It is currently the practice of a number of CEBs to make it a requirement that small firms in receipt of employment grants recruit unemployed persons from the live register. I would also endorse the recommendation of the Task Force on Long-Term Unemployment that CEBs would exercise their discretion to apply a higher rate of grant where the long-term unemployed are taken on by new or expanding firms.

In 1995 following representations to the Minister for Finance, I secured the removal of some restrictions to access by recipients of the Department of Social Welfare back-to-work allowance to CEB employment grants. The restrictions were based on concerns about double-funding from Exchequer sources. Under the revised arrangements, boards are now in a position to offer employment grants to project promoters who have been unemployed themselves and are ‘own account' operators and who are also in receipt of the back-to-work allowance, or the area enterprise allowance from an area-based partnership company. Of course, the prohibition remains on the payment of a CEB employment grant to a back-to-work allowance recipient, other than in the circumstances outlined above. It should be noted that persons setting up in self employment who have previously been unemployed may also apply to boards for capital grant assistance in lieu of employment grants.

I would be concerned if regulations designed to avoid deadweight and inappropriate access to multiple sources of Exchequer support can be found to have an adverse impact on opportunities for participation by the long-term unemployed in the new jobs resulting from county enterprise board activity.