Long-term unemployment hurts whole families and can become an intergenerational problem.

Employers are reluctant to hire the long-term unemployed and more must be done to encourage them, according to the new junior social protection minister Kevin Humphreys.

More than €127m is available from the EU to help get young Irish people into work — but so far, schemes are being delayed partly because of equality legislation.

Young unemployed people who fail to upload their CVs to designated job websites could be hit with financial penalties, Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has warned.

The Government has signed a multi-million euro contract with An Post to provide cash payments to social welfare recipients.

Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has confirmed the revamp of the new welfare.ie website is costing the State €570,000.

The country’s 60 social welfare offices will have an average of €100,000 each spent on them as they begin rebranding to reflect their multi-purpose remit and foreign-sounding new name.

Joan Burton, the social protection minister, has said reform of child benefit should be looked at by way of taxation, rather than excluding high-earner families.

The Government yesterday launched its one-stop-shop model for jobseekers, with a warning that if those in receipt of benefits did not “play ball”, they would have their rates cuts.

A new integrated employment and support service has been launched by the Department of Social Protection today.