Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 December 2022
417. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of social welfare participants involved in skill development schemes, community and voluntary schemes and training courses per payment type in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62197/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Irish labour market has experienced a robust recovery post-COVID. According to the latest estimates from the CSO’s Labour Force Survey (Q3, 2022), the number of people in employment is now above 2.55 million, the highest level in the history of the State, while the unemployment rate for November 2022 stood at 4.4 percent, below pre-pandemic levels.
The table below provides an overview of the number of participants on activation programmes. These figures are available in the CSO’s monthly Live Register publication. While the majority of people enrolled in these programmes are jobseeker’s recipients, there are a range of other social welfare recipients also participating in the programmes listed below.
Table: Scheme participants, October 2022
|
Scheme |
Participants |
|
Back to work enterprise allowance |
2,356 |
|
Short-term enterprise allowance |
294 |
|
DSP Part-Time Job Incentive |
122 |
|
TUS |
4,794 |
|
Work Placement Experience Programme |
469 |
|
Community employment schemes (excluding supervisors) |
18,585 |
|
SOLAS full time training for unemployed people |
4,754 |
|
Back to education courses - vocational training opportunities scheme |
1,776 |
|
Back to education courses - back to education allowance |
3,215 |
|
Total |
36,365 |
As part of Pathways to Work , the Government’s national employment services strategy, my Department has specific commitments to improve labour market outcomes for people facing higher barriers to employment, including people with disabilities. As of the 11th of November, there were 798 former Disability Allowance recipients enrolled in Community Employment, 51 on the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance and 54 on the Back to Education Allowance. This includes people who transferred onto an activation programme since the 1st of January 2019. Enrolment into programmes is entirely voluntary for this group.
