Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 May 2022
79. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his Department’s engagement with the Department of Social Protection in terms of assisting people with the transition from social welfare support into employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24956/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder pillar 2 of the Economic Recovery Plan, the Government has committed to helping people back to work as the pandemic unemployment payment is phased out, and to reducing the risk of labour market scarring and entrenched long-term unemployment. This is in the context of the plan’s overarching objective of having 2.5 million in employment by 2024, a target in fact met by the end of 2021, and to supporting the transition of Ireland’s economy and workforce to the new Green and Digital economies.
Pathways to Work, 2021-2025, the national employment strategy for helping unemployed people prepare for, secure and sustain employment is the Recovery Plan’s key delivery mechanism for these ambitions around labour market activation. Its key targets include supporting 75,000 long term unemployed into employment by mid-2023; reducing youth unemployment to below its 2019 average; ensuring better labour market outcomes for those most at risk of poverty, including lone parents and people with disabilities; and improving labour market transitions by reducing the rate at which newly unemployed persons progress into long term unemployment.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and its enterprise agencies, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, as well as the Retail Consultation Forum convened by my Department, are working with the Department of Social Protection to implement Pathways to Work. In particular, the Department and its agencies are working to raise employer awareness and take up of employment supports such as the expanded JobsPlus subsidy scheme and Work Experience Placement Programme, including through support for the strategy’s series of employer roadshows, as well as partnering with the Department of Social Protection on the hosting of 130 job promotion events for jobseekers and employers and two national Intreo Work and Skills Weeks annually.
As committed to in Pathways to Work, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will also be working with other Departments to increase labour market participation among underrepresented groups. This will include the development and operation of ‘Returner’ programmes, to encourage and support people who have left the workforce to take up employment, as well as the development of a Traveller and Roma Training, Employment and Enterprise Plan. Through its role in informing education and training provision, the analysis of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, the Secretariat for which is based in my Department, is also supporting the labour market activation of the unemployed into areas of identified skills needs for Ireland’s economy.
My Department is also represented as an ex-officio member of the Labour Market Advisory Council, which provides advice to the Minister for Social Protection on the efficient operation of the labour market, with a particular view to increasing participation rates, minimising unemployment levels, and reducing average unemployment durations. The Council plays a key role in monitoring the implementation and reporting on the progress of Pathways to Work. The Department and its enterprise agencies also participate on the Labour Market Surveillance Group, chaired by the Department of Social Protection, which meets regularly to share labour market intelligence, discuss the latest policy developments and ensure coordinated responses at both national and regional levels.
