2,400 long-term jobless taken off dole by JobsPlus scheme

The Government’s Jobs-Plus scheme has managed to take almost 2,400 long-term unemployed people off the dole in the last year — the majority of them people who had been out of work for more than two years.

The scheme, which was launched in July 2013, provides a direct monthly financial incentive to employers who recruit employees from people on the live register. According to the Department of Social Protection it is “biased” in favour of those who are longer-term unemployed”.

The incentive programme provides employers with two levels of payment: €7,500 over two years where a jobseeker who is 12-24 months on the live register is recruited; and €10,000 for each person recruited who has been unemployed for more than 24 months.