Written Answers Nos. 411-430
411. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full year cost of increasing the back to school clothing and footwear allowance by €5, €10 , €15, €20 and €25; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14731/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when children start school each autumn.
End of year records show that under the 2017 BSCFA scheme, payments were made to 151,000 families in respect of over 275,000 children at a cost of €49 million. The rate of payment in 2017 was increased by 25% to €125 in respect of children aged 4 to 11 and €250 for children aged 12 years and over in second level education.
Using the total number of children covered by the scheme in 2017 as a basis, the additional cost to increase the BSCFA rates by the amounts listed is set out in the attached tabular statement. Changes to increase the rate of payment of any scheme administered by my Department would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Estimated Full -Year Additional Cost to Increase BSCFA rates by amounts listed:
|
Amount of increase |
Cost |
|
€5 |
€1,375,000 |
|
€10 |
€2,750,000 |
|
€15 |
€4,125,000 |
|
€20 |
€5,500,000 |
|
€25 |
€6,875,000 |
412. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full year cost of reversing changes made to the one-parent family payment in 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14732/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe cost implications of reversing the changes made to the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) in 2012 would be very complex to estimate and would require significant resources and time to prepare. In addition some of the impacts cannot be quantified.
There are three significant barriers to undertaking this costing exercise. Firstly, by reversing the amendments made to the OFP scheme, this could result in a cohort of lone parents that are currently not in receipt of a social welfare payment becoming eligible and therefore moving onto a social welfare payment. As members of this cohort are not currently in receipt of any social welfare payment, the Department currently has no visibility of them and therefore it would be impossible to accurately estimate the numbers involved.
Secondly, this proposal may incentivise some customers to move from alternative payments such as Jobseekers Allowance (JA), the Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST) and the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) back onto the OFP. Again, it would not be possible for the Department to estimate the magnitude of this flow between schemes.
Finally, reversing the changes to the OFP scheme would also increase the incidence of dual payments of OFP and the Working Family Payment (WFP) – formerly the Family Income Supplement – which would lead to significant but unquantifiable reductions in FIS payments for some lone parents.
These unknown factors are critical to providing a reliable costing. Therefore, as has been previously indicated to the Deputy, the Department is not in a position to provide the costing requested.
413. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending jobseeker's payments to the self-employed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14733/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe issue of extending additional social insurance benefits to the self-employed paying class S PRSI was considered in the Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance fund (SIF) as at 31 December, 2015, which I published on 18 October 2017. The review, required by legislation, was carried out by independent consultants, KPMG. It examines the projected income and expenditure of the SIF over the course of the 55 year period from 2016 to 2071.
The review found that the fund currently has a modest surplus of income over expenditure. In 2016 there was a surplus of €0.4 billion on expenditure of €8.8 billion and receipts of €9.2 billion. However, this will reduce over the next two years and will return to a small shortfall in 2020. The annual shortfalls are projected to increase from 2021 onwards as the ageing of the population impacts. Projections indicate that, in the absence of further action to tackle the shortfall, the excess of expenditure over income of the fund will increase significantly over the medium to long term. The shortfall in expenditure over income is projected to increase from €0.2 billion in 2020 to €3.3 billion by 2030 and to €22.2 billion by 2071. It should be noted that as self-employed workers were to be eligible to apply for invalidity pension from December 2017, the cost of this introduction has been factored into the actuarial review’s findings.
As part of the review the independent consultants were required to project the additional PRSI expenditure if invalidity pension and illness, jobseeker’s and carer’s benefits were extended to class S self-employed workers and the PRSI contribution rates required to provide these benefits on a revenue neutral basis.
The review found that the combined cost of introducing the invalidity, illness, jobseeker’s and carer’s benefits for class S contributions is estimated to be €118 million in 2018, rising steadily to €223 million in 2020. By 2025 the projected cost is €413 million and, over the period of the review the cost would rise to €1.3 billion in 2071.
As outlined in the table below the cost of introducing jobseeker’s benefit for class S contributions is estimated to be €45 million in 2018, rising steadily to €60 million in 2020. By 2025 the projected cost is €81 million and, over the period of the review the cost would rise to €185 million in 2071.
The review indicates that, where these benefits are extended to the self-employed, the class S rate of PRSI contribution would need to increase substantially in order to ensure that the benefits are delivered in a revenue neutral manner. It estimates that when expenditure on the additional benefits is considered over the entire projection period, PRSI rates would need to increase by 94% under a scenario of no subvention from the exchequer. This is equivalent to an increase of the Class S contribution rate from the current 4% rate to 7.8%.
This increased contribution is attributable to the costs of extending these additional benefits to PRSI class S contributors. It does not take account of the value to PRSI class S contributors of access to the range of existing benefits, and in particular State pension contributory. The consultants estimated that the typical cost of State pension (contributory) on its own is of the order of 10% to 15%, depending on other factors including rate of average earnings and date of commencing paying PRSI. Adding in the other benefits referenced the total class S rate of contribution to ensure revenue neutrality would be of the order of 20% per annum.
|
Year |
Projected costs of extending Invalidity, Illness, Jobseekers Benefit, Carer's Benefit |
Projected costs of extending Invalidity, Illness, Jobseekers Benefit, Carer's Benefit |
Projected costs of extending Invalidity, Illness, Jobseekers Benefit, Carer's Benefit |
Projected costs of extending Invalidity, Illness, Jobseekers Benefit, Carer's Benefit |
Projected costs of extending Invalidity, Illness, Jobseekers Benefit, Carer's Benefit |
|
Invalidity |
Illness |
Jobseeker's |
Carer's |
Total |
|
|
2015 (act) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2016 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2017 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
2018 |
30 |
40 |
45 |
2 |
118 |
|
2019 |
59 |
54 |
58 |
3 |
173 |
|
2020 |
87 |
72 |
60 |
4 |
223 |
|
2021 |
125 |
88 |
63 |
5 |
281 |
|
2022 |
152 |
94 |
67 |
5 |
317 |
|
2023 |
176 |
99 |
71 |
5 |
351 |
|
2024 |
198 |
104 |
75 |
6 |
382 |
|
2025 |
218 |
108 |
81 |
6 |
413 |
|
2030 |
338 |
143 |
91 |
8 |
579 |
|
2035 |
429 |
172 |
103 |
10 |
714 |
|
2040 |
496 |
198 |
112 |
12 |
817 |
|
2045 |
551 |
222 |
123 |
14 |
910 |
|
2050 |
537 |
223 |
125 |
15 |
899 |
|
2055 |
563 |
237 |
134 |
16 |
950 |
|
2060 |
601 |
256 |
144 |
17 |
1,018 |
|
2065 |
665 |
282 |
158 |
19 |
1,124 |
|
2070 |
775 |
322 |
179 |
21 |
1,297 |
|
2071 |
800 |
331 |
185 |
21 |
1,337 |
Additional Projected expenditure (€ millions) on various benefit types where extended to class S (Actuarial Review as at 31/12/15)
The Actuarial Review provides government with a timely and evidence-led opportunity to undertake a full review of our social insurance system and to consult with stakeholders. The review will take account of the financial sustainability of the Fund given the expected demographic challenges and consideration of extending the scope of benefits for workers generally, including the self-employed.
415. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the income disregard for those in receipt of the one-parent family payment by €5, €10, €15, €20 and €25; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14735/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe estimated costings provided in tabular form below are based on the existing profile of recipients of the One-Parent Family Payment as of January 2018 and assume that the Budget 2018 increases due from 29 March have taken effect.
These estimates do not take into account potential behavioural changes which would arise from the implementation of increases to the earnings disregard, in particular any potential inflows into the scheme.
|
Increase OFP earnings disregard by: |
Approximate cost to the Exchequer in a full year |
|
€5 a week (to €135 a week) |
€1.4 million |
|
€10 a week (to €140 a week) |
€2.9 million |
|
€15 a week (to €145 a week) |
€4.3 million |
|
€20 a week (to €150 a week) |
€5.7 million |
|
€25 a week (to €155 a week) |
€7.1 million |
417. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full year cost of reinstating the State transition pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14737/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided that State pension age will be increased gradually to 68 years. This began in January 2014 with the abolition of the State pension (transition) which was available to people aged 65 who satisfied the qualifying conditions. This measure standardised the State pension age for all at 66 years. This will increase to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028.
We are all aware that people are living for much longer. Life expectancy at birth has increased significantly over the years – and is now at 78.4 years for men and 82.8 years for women. This is very positive. As a result of this demographic change, the number of State pension recipients is increasing year on year. This has significant implications for the future costs of State pension provision which are currently increasing by roughly €1 billion every 5 years. The purpose of changes to the State pension age is to make the pension system more sustainable in the context of increasing life expectancy. This sustainability is vital, if the current workers, who fund State pension payments through their PRSI, are to receive a pension themselves when they reach retirement age.
In 2013, the cost of the State pension (transition) was €137 million. Its abolition was not expected to save that amount of expenditure in full, as some people who were affected would alternatively claim working age payments such as Jobseeker's Benefit (although at a lower rate than the rate of the State pension), or claim an Increase for a Qualified Adult in respect of their spouse’s pension.
However, it is anticipated that well over half of that cost has been saved each year as a result of this measure, and this would be expected to increase as (a) the number of 65 year olds increases, (b) the change results in a higher percentage of people working while aged 65, and (c) there have been a number of Budget increases in the rate of the State pension since then. It is estimated that the net saving in 2017 is likely to be in the region of over €80 million, and this is expected to increase over time.
The Deputy should note that there is no legally mandated retirement age in the State, and the age at which employees retire is a matter for the contract of employment between them and their employers. While such a contract may have been entered into with a retirement date of 65, in the context of the previous State pension arrangements, there is no legal impediment to the employer and employee agreeing to increase the duration of employment for one or more years, if both parties wish to do so.
Where this is not possible, there are specific measures which apply to someone claiming Jobseeker’s Benefit from a date after their 65th birthday. Where qualified, these recipients may continue to be eligible for that payment until reaching pension age.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
418. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full year cost of reinstating the bereavement grant at a rate of €850; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14738/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraDuring the economic downturn, my Department protected primary social welfare rates and in recent years, as the economy recovered, the Government has concentrated resources in improving the core rates of payments, particularly for pensioners. Abolishing the bereavement grant provided a significant annual saving and allowed my Department to protect other core social welfare payments such as the State pension.
The number of bereavement grant claims in 2013 was 23,716, and this represented an increase of approximately 4% on 2012. Based on a similar yearly increase each year since 2013, it is estimated that the number of bereavement grant claims that might arise in 2019, were the scheme to be re-introduced, would be in the region of 30,008, and the number would be expected to increase in future years. Accordingly, if there were 30,008 such grants made in 2019, at a rate of €850 each, the cost would be approx. €25.51 million.
Any decision to reinstate the Bereavement Grant would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
It’s worth noting that there are a range of supports available for people following bereavement which provide more significant support than the grant. These include weekly paid widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s (contributory and non-contributory) pensions, which are based on contributions or a means test, and a once-off widowed or surviving civil partner grant of €6,000 where there is a dependent child. A number of social welfare payments, including State pension, continue in payment for six weeks following a death. In Budget 2016, the Government increased the payment after death period to 12 weeks for carer’s allowance. Guardian payments are available where someone cares for an orphaned child. A special funeral grant of €850 is paid where a person dies because of an accident at work or occupational disease.
Under the SWA scheme, the Department of Social Protection may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income, which may include help with funeral and burial expenses."
In 2017, some 2,800 ENPs were awarded to assist with funerals and burial expenses at a cost of €5.1 million.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
421. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full year cost of increasing maternity benefit by one, two, three, four, five and six weeks, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14741/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaternity Benefit is paid by my Department to employed and self-employed mothers who are on maternity leave and is based on the payment of PRSI contributions while working. The current entitlement to paid maternity leave is 26 weeks. The 2018 estimates for my Department provide for expenditure of nearly €264 million.
The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of maternity benefit is approximately €9.6 million for each extra week, at the rate of €240 per week. The table below estimates the cost of increasing the duration for which maternity benefit is paid by one to six weeks.
It should be noted that Budget 2018 provided for the rate of maternity benefit to be increased by €5 per week from 26 March 2018.
These estimates are based on the cost for a full year and assume that any increase in duration is implemented from the beginning of the year.
Estimated annual cost of increasing the duration of maternity benefit based on budget 2018 rate of €240
|
No. of additional weeks |
Estimated cost (€m) |
|
1 |
9.6 |
|
2 |
19.2 |
|
3 |
28.8 |
|
4 |
38.4 |
|
5 |
48.0 |
|
6 |
57.6 |
This costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2018. It should be noted that the birth rate has continued to fall year on year. It should also be noted that there are additional costs to the Exchequer as these estimates do not include the costs of salary top-ups for public/civil servants.
422. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full year cost of increasing paternity benefit by one, two, three, four, five and six weeks, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14742/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraPaternity Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who are on paternity leave from work and covered by social insurance (PRSI) . It is paid for 2 weeks and is available for any child born or adopted on or after 1 September 2016. The 2018 Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure of nearly €16 million.
The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of paternity benefit is approximately €5.2 million for each extra week. The table below estimates the additional cost of increasing the duration of paternity benefit above its current 2 week duration at the current weekly rate of €240. It should be noted that Budget 2018 provided for the weekly rate of payment to be increased by €5 per week to €240 from 26 March 2018.
|
Estimated annual cost of increasing the duration of Paternity Benefit based on 2018 rates |
|
|
No. of additional weeks |
Estimated cost (€m) |
|
1 |
5.2 |
|
2 |
10.4 |
|
3 |
15.6 |
|
4 |
20.8 |
|
5 |
26.0 |
|
6 |
31.2 |
These estimates are based on the cost for a full year and assume that any increase in duration is implemented from the beginning of the year.
It should be noted that this costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2018. It should also be noted that there are also costs to the Exchequer as these estimates do not include the costs of salary top-ups for public/civil servants.
424. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the full year cost of operating the free travel scheme; the estimated cost of increasing expenditure by 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14744/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approx. 904,000 customers with direct eligibility. The scheme is available to all people aged over 66 living permanently in the State. To qualify for the scheme, applicants who are under age 66 must be in receipt of a qualifying payment. These are invalidity pension, blind pension, disability allowance, carer’s allowance or an equivalent social security payment from a country covered by EC Regulations or one with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement.
In order to maintain service at existing levels, and to facilitate new entrants/services to the scheme, funding to the free travel scheme was increased by €10 million in Budget 2018, an increase of 12.5%.
The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2018 is €90 million. To increase the cost by 10% would require an additional €9 million bringing the total expenditure for the scheme up to €99 million.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
425. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the expenditure on the reasonable accommodation fund in each of the years 2012 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14745/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe reasonable accommodation fund assists employers to take appropriate measures to enable a person with a disability/impairment to have access to employment by providing a range of grants. These grants and supports include the workplace equipment adaptation grant, the personal reader grant, the job interview interpreter grant and the employee retention grant.
The purpose of the scheme is to assist unemployed people with disabilities to gain access to the open labour market by providing grants for “reasonable accommodations” in the private sector and to support private sector employers in the employment of people with disabilities.
The reasonable accommodation fund is a demand-led scheme in that expenditure arises in response to applications received. The actual expenditure on this fund is set out in the following table.
Table: Expenditure on the Reasonable Accommodation Fund for People with Disabilities
|
Year |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018* |
|
Workplace equipment and adaptation grant |
€71,176 |
€81,724 |
€61,776 |
€58,108 |
€54,041 |
€69,254 |
€15,994 |
|
Personal reader grant |
€27,274 |
€27,526 |
€14,499 |
€11,866 |
€16,537 |
€31,619 |
€1,816 |
|
Job interview interpreter grant |
€6,355 |
€2,767 |
€1,589 |
€3,950 |
€7,244 |
€5,714 |
€601 |
|
Employee retention grant |
€4,320 |
€0 |
€0 |
€0 |
€0 |
€0 |
€0 |
|
Total |
€109,125 |
€112,017 |
€77,864 |
€73,925 |
€77,822 |
€106,587 |
€18,411 |
* 1 January 2018 – 28 March 2018
I hope this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
426. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if all Intreo staff have received disability awareness training; the estimated cost of training staff who have not yet undergone such training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14746/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection fully recognises the need to support staff and promote disability awareness and has been very proactive in the provision of training and supports in this area in recent years, with a very positive response from staff.
The Department supports its staff by offering a suite of disability awareness training including Mental Health and Deaf Awareness, Dealing with Blind Customers and general Disability Awareness. The Department also offers courses in SafeTALK suicide awareness, ASIST suicide prevention and Stress Awareness. These are available to all staff in the Department, including staff in Intreo Centres. Since 2013, over 2,900 staff have attended training courses in these areas. In addition, e-learning courses developed for front line public servants by the National Disability Authority (NDA) and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) are freely available online to all staff via the Department’s Staff Development intranet site. Bespoke, ad hoc training can also be procured where required utilising an External Training Budget.
In conjunction with Mental Health Ireland (MHI) and the Civil Service Employee Assistance Service (CSEAS), Mental Health Awareness workshops have been held in a variety of locations since 2013. The workshops provided tools and strategies to enhance mental health and well-being, increase awareness and understanding, and promote the range of formal and informal supports and resources available.
My Department has a dedicated Disability Liaison Officer (DLO) to support our staff with disabilities and their managers. The DLO offers support and promotes awareness of disability issues and services amongst staff, while also facilitating the Department’s active participation in the Irish Association for Supported Employment’s Job Shadow Initiative and AHEAD's Willing Able Mentoring Programme. This Officer has attended AsIAm Public Sector Training Programme on Autism-Friendly Practices, NDA Seminar on “Alternative & Inclusive Routes to Employment for People with Disabilities” and NCBI Seminar on “Bridging the Information Gap” and has disseminated information from these sources to Departmental staff. The Department also provides translation, interpretive and Irish Sign Language services as required and is committed to the provision of information in alternative formats where feasible, as outlined in our Customer Charter.
Induction and Orientation training highlights the range of Departmental supports and grant-aid available for both staff and clients with disabilities. These include employment supports for jobseekers with disabilities such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme, EmployAbility Services and the Reasonable Accommodation Fund, in addition to the Civil Service Employee Assistance Service (CSEAS).
During 2016, in the context of Departmental commitments under Pathways to Work 2016-2020 to extend and intensify proactive engagement with people with a disability, 67 dedicated Case Officers were nominated across the Intreo network. My Department’s Staff Development Unit provided a Disability Awareness Seminar in March 2016 for these Case Officers, with speakers from the National Disability Authority and Epilepsy Ireland. This was supplemented by tailored instructor-led training nationally in Employment Supports for People with Disabilities and this curriculum is now incorporated as standard into an accredited programme for Case Officers, Level 8 Certificate in Professional Practice in Employability Services, in conjunction with the National College of Ireland (NCI).
Ongoing liaison, via the Department’s Disability & Illness Policy Unit, with the National Disability Authority (NDA) and the Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) ensures that information on relevant events and seminars is communicated to Departmental staff.
The Department will continue with its extensive training and awareness in this area. It is estimated that the cost of providing disability awareness training to all staff in Intreo Centres in the Department would be approximately €90,000.
427. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full year cost of extending the wage subsidy scheme for those in receipt of partial capacity benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14747/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe partial capacity benefit (PCB) scheme is designed for people who are on illness benefit, for at least six months, or on invalidity pension and who have retained some capacity for work and wish to work. If awarded, PCB will allow them to continue to receive, in addition to their earnings from employment, a percentage of their illness benefit or invalidity pension payment while working.
The wage subsidy scheme (WSS) is an employment support to private sector employers, the objective of which is to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities and thereby increase the numbers of people with disabilities participating in the open labour market. The scheme provides financial incentives to private sector employers to hire people with a disability for between 21 and 39 hours per week under a contract of employment.
Extending eligibility for the WSS to employers who employ people in receipt of PCB is estimated to cost about €3 million in a full year. The costing here relates to projected new PCB participants only, as a WSS payment can only be made where an individual is entering a new job or is in that job for less than 12 months.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
429. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of staff working in the social welfare appeals office; the estimated full year cost of increasing the number of staff by 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14749/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently 82 staff (78.05 full-time equivalent) working in the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
The full year cost of increasing the staff complement by 10% would amount to approximately €375,000.
430. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of jobless households here; the way in which the rate of jobless households compares with the EU average; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14750/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAccording to the Eurostat Labour Force Survey, in 2016 there were 170.76 million households in the EU (excluding households composed solely of students or solely of inactive people aged 65 and over). Of these, some 29.49 million households (17.3% of the total) were jobless - that is, no adult in the household was working.
For Ireland, the total number of relevant households was 1,440,600, and of these some 253,000 (17.6% of the total) were jobless.
Although the figure for Ireland has fallen from a high of 23% in 2012 as a result of the economic recovery, government remains concerned about aspects of household joblessness that go beyond the standard measures of unemployment and receipt of jobseekers’ payments. Relevant groups, not normally considered to be unemployed, include economically inactive lone parents, people with disabilities, and the adult dependants of unemployed people, all of whom might benefit from closer attachment to employment and the labour market. A range of policy reforms has been taken affecting these groups, and further reforms were considered in consultation with representative bodies for those involved. These policy developments are set out in the Pathways to Work Action Plan for Jobless Households which I published on 25, September 2017. Development of the Action Plan fulfils a commitment in the Programme for Government and in the overall Pathways to Work 2016-2020 strategy. It also responds to concerns about the level of household joblessness raised in Country-Specific Recommendations to Ireland by the EU.
The Action Plan for Jobless Households is an example of one of the many measures that Government is implementing, with a view to assisting people and families to become work ready and gain employment. The Plan aims to extend activation services to people who are not working, but are not defined as unemployed by traditional measures. It focuses in particular on improving employment rates of households with children – both the traditional ‘nuclear’ family and the lone parent family. A number of key policy initiatives to achieve that goal are identified as follows:
- Extend active engagement with the Intreo employment service to additional groups of economically inactive working age adults
- Improve incentives and remove barriers for people transitioning from welfare to employment
- Pilot a family focused case management approach in five geographical areas to improve employment rates and reduce joblessness in households across Ireland.
Progress against each of the reform actions and milestones will be monitored and reported on quarterly to the Cabinet Committee on the Economy and Jobs. Implementation of these policy measures should see the level of joblessness fall more rapidly than is already anticipated over the next few years. These targets are in addition to the existing Pathways to Work targets 2020 – bringing unemployment down to between 5% and 6%, bringing long-term unemployment below 2.5%, and bringing youth unemployment below 12%.
The Action Plan for Jobless Households aims to identify and remove barriers that are currently preventing people from getting a fair chance, thus building a Republic of Opportunity for all.
