asked the Minister for Labour the upper and lower limits of resettlement grants for Irish workers returning from abroad and the number of Irish workers resettled, each year for the past five years.

The upper limits of grants under the resettlement assistance scheme for workers coming from outside the State are:

towards travelling to interview—up to £70 for the worker plus a similar allowance for accompanying spouse; towards travelling to take up new employment—80 per cent of cost of surface travel for the worker and his/her dependants subject to a maximum of £70 per person;

towards household removal expenses—80 per cent of the costs subject to a maximum of £275;

towards settling in to a new residence —£185;

towards lodging expenses—£13 per week for up to six months;

towards visits home—£35 per visit.

In addition people coming from outside the State to take up certain key posts can qualify for a residence purchase grant of up to £2,000. There are no lower limits of resettlement grants.

The number of workers from abroad who were assisted under the scheme over the last five calendar years to take up employment here were as follows:

So far this year, 126 persons from abroad have been assisted. While in the compilation of these statistics no distinction is made between beneficiaries under the scheme on the basis of nationality, the Deputy may take it that most of the persons assisted were either Irish nationals or were married to Irish nationals.

21.