Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 27 Feb 2001

Vol. 531 No. 3

Written Answers. - Employment Support Services.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

58 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if the Government is considering further initiatives to assist long-term unemployed people back to work following recent improvements for people on invalidity and disability benefit. [5745/01]

Eamon Gilmore

Ceist:

73 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the steps being taken by his Department to assist the most marginal groups of the unemployed, specifically ex-offenders, people with former addiction problems and the very long-term unemployed. [5732/01]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern):

I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 73 together.

My Department's employment support services consist of three pillars which are designed to assist and encourage long-term unemployed and other long-term welfare recipients to return to work, training or further education.

The first pillar is the back to work allowance scheme which encourages long-term unemployed people, lone parents and certain persons with disabilities to return to work by allowing them to retain part of their social welfare payment when they take up employment or self-employment. Ex-prisoners or people with former addiction problems may avail of these supports where they satisfy the underlying conditions of the schemes. In the specific case of ex-prisoners, in order to assist ex-prisoners to reintegrate into the community, periods spent in prison can be taken into account in order to facilitate access to the scheme. Last year I introduced an enhanced version of this scheme specifically targetted at persons who had been five years or more on the live register. Persons participating in this can avail of a six week training period either on or off the job and during this period receive a top up of £35 a week in addition to their weekly unemployment payment. When they take up employment they will be paid a bonus of £200 and a further payment also of £200 after they have completed six months work.

The back to work allowance scheme has been highly successful since its introduction and to date more than 75,000 people, the vast majority of whom were previously long-term unemployed, have taken part in the scheme. Currently there are more than 38,000 participants in the scheme, approximately half of whom are engaged in a wide range of self employment options.

My Department recently published the findings of an independent evaluation of the back to work allowance scheme which was carried out by Indecon International Economic Consultants. The report recommended, in the light of the current tight labour market situation, that the scheme be refocused on the longer-term unemployed, that the non-financial supports be enhanced and that the overall numbers on the scheme be reduced. The report will form the basis for future developments of the scheme and will help my Department ensure that it reflects the needs of the labour market and also the needs of the client groups at whom it is targeted.

The second pillar of my Department's employment support service is the back to education allowance programme. This is a second chance educational opportunities programme designed to encourage and facilitate unemployed people, lone parents and people with disabilities to improve their skills and qualifications with a view to returning to the work force. Courses covered under the scheme range from second level through to third level postgraduate courses of study.

However, in cases where a person's choice of course falls outside the realm of formal second and third level courses for which the back to education allowance is payable, there are provisions to allow unemployed people and other categories attend approved courses of education, training and development. Participants on these courses may continue to receive their social welfare payments for the duration of the course. In order to ensure the continued relevance of the back to education scheme, my Department intends to commission an independent comprehensive evaluation of the scheme. This will cover all aspects of the current scheme, including the qualifying requirements and will form the basis for any future changes to the scheme.

The final pillar consists of the Departments locally based jobs facilitators. Their primary role is to assist the long-term unemployed and other long-term welfare dependants back to work, training or further education by providing them on an individual basis with assistance to access the necessary programmes or supports which their circumstances demand.

I am satisfied the range of supports currently available from my Department's employment support programmes, coupled with the wide range of supports and interventions available through other State agencies provides a high level of support to vulnerable groups in their efforts to re-intergrate into the active labour market.