asked the Minister for Labour his views on whether the social welfare increases announced in the budget necessitate or make desirable an increase in the allowances paid to FÁS and CERT trainees; and if he has satisfied himself that the arrangements announced by him in relation to additional payment to CERT trainees for Christmas in fact operated so as to ensure that there was no disincentive to persons taking up training opportunities.

10.

asked the Minister for Labour if the allowance paid to persons on social employment schemes will be increased in line with the budget increase in social welfare; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

29.

asked the Minister for Labour his views on whether the social welfare increases announced in the budget necessitate or make desirable an increase in the allowances paid to participants in the Teamwork and social employment schemes.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 10 and 29 together.

Standard training allowances payable to unemployed trainees in FÁS and CERT of 18 years and over will continue to be set at a rate equivalent to the maximum urban long-term unemployment assistance rate. Persons entitled to social welfare payments higher than that rate will receive allowances set at the equivalent to their social welfare entitlement. Consequently, when social welfare payments are increased in late July 1988, these training allowances will increase by the same amount.

It is not proposed to change the rates of the special training allowances set for 15 to 17-year olds who are not entitled to unemployment assistance.

Grants to sponsors in respect of wages paid to participants on teamwork and the social employment schemes are not linked to social welfare rates. I have no proposals to increase these grants at present.

As regards CERT unemployed trainees, the additional payment for Christmas was made on the same basis as applied to AnCO-FÁS trainees. In other words, CERT unemployed trainees who obtained a certificate from the Department of Social Welfare that they were on long term unemployment assistance at the commencement of training received the bonus from CERT.

Let me deal first with the extra allowances for Christmas. Will the Minister accept that his promise to the Dáil that the announcement he had made would mean that there would be no disincentive to trainees proved hollow? All told, some 4,000 trainees did not benefit from the extra allowances promised. Trainees who were long term unemployed who would have qualified for the bonus had they remained unemployed were not paid the bonus if they were recruited before 17 August. Therefore, we had the extraordinary anomaly of people working side-by-side, some getting the bonus and some not getting the bonus. Also, trainees less than 15 months unemployed at the start of training and, therefore, only short term did not get it while if they had remained unemployed they would have become long term and qualified for the extra 60 per cent. Will the Minister accept that a number of very serious gaps emerged in what he had promised for Christmas?

No, I will not. I made very clear in August when we cut the training rates that it was for new entrants to the courses and we gave a commitment to those on the courses that they would continue to receive the same rates. That is precisely what we did. When we announced it in the initial statement in early December there was some confusion in this House. Clearly, I gave the instructions following talks with the Department of Social Welfare, the Department of Finance and the Department of Labour on the position. I also issued a statement which was properly published in the newspapers. I do not accept that there was confusion. It may be that people wished to interpret that everybody was going to get the increased rates and an increased bonus, but it was clear from my statements from as early as August what the position was going to be.