Poor uptake prompts Gateway reform

With just 270 positions filled on its Gateway job activation programme, the Government has had to change the criteria for access to the scheme to try to attract more participants.

Under the terms of the Gateway initiative, dole claimants who have been on the Live Register for more than two years are paid an extra €20 per week on top of their jobseeker’s allowance to work for local authorities. An average of 19.5 hours per week is on offer in areas including village enhancement schemes; landscaping; tourism ambassadors; animal control; and libraries, and each placement lasts for 22 months.

The Government set a target of 3,000 positions to be filled by the end of the year. Yet by the end of this week only 270 had been taken up since the scheme was introduced more than 18 months ago. Just 16 of 31 councils had participants engaged in work on their behalf.