Vol. 486 No. 2
118 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Finance if he will make a statement on whether structural employment problems remain in Ireland in spite of the recent economic success; and the proposals, if any, he has to rectify this situation. [1189/98]
Substantial progress has been made in reducing the rate of unemployment in Ireland in recent years. With a present rate of about 10 per cent, we are below the EU average rate and very substantially below the rate of some 15 per cent that obtained here as recently as 1993.
However, the present rate of about 10 per cent is still unacceptably high. The Government is determined to continue with those policies that are effective, and to introduce new policies, as necessary, to bring the rate down further as quickly as possible.
A principal thrust of policy will be to address the main structural problem, that of long-term unemployment. Persons unemployed for over one year comprise over half of the total unemployed.
As the Deputy will be aware, there are already a number of major schemes focused on encouraging the long-term unemployed back to work, most notably the community employment and the back to work allowance schemes.
In my recent budget, I announced a further two part initiative for the long-term unemployed, to operate from 6 April this year. The first part is a special tax allowance in the first year of employment of £3,000 plus £1,000 for each child for persons unemployed for one year or more who take up a job. The allowance will be tapered down over a three year period.
The second part of the initiative is a double tax deduction for wages for employers who employ a long-term unemployed person. This double deduction can last for a period of up to three years provided the former long-term unemployed person is still employed by them. Participants in this initiative will retain their secondary benefits.
As regards the future, my Government colleagues and I are determined to ensure that the long-term unemployed will continue to be a focus of policy. We will be reviewing on a continuing basis what further measures might be most effective in encouraging the long-term unemployed to take up the jobs that are becoming increasingly available in our country as a result of our strong economic growth.
