Yesterday, the Government unveiled the so-called work placement experience programme. It is a new free labour scheme for bosses whereby workers will get less than the pandemic unemployment payment and will be expected to live below the poverty line while working. Put simply, it is JobBridge 2.0. Workers on the scheme will get an extra €3.43 an hour for working 30 hours a week for six months without a guaranteed job at the end of it. Bosses can have up to ten workers on the scheme without paying a single cent. This will actively discourage the creation of real jobs. When JobBridge was abolished, the Indecon report commissioned by the Government made ten proposals for any replacement scheme. Of those ten, the Government has ignored seven. What is the point in commissioning reports if the Government is just going to ignore them? The Taoiseach says the new scheme will be policed by new caseworkers while the Pathways to Work strategy speaks about expanding the role of private contracted companies, such as Seetec and Turas Nua, in handling cases.

The Deputy's time is up.

Will these case officers be outsourced in JobBridge 2.0?

First, I disagree with the Deputy's analysis. I will simply say that the activation programmes and the Pathways to Work programme that was launched yesterday are very significant, very well resourced and supported financially by Government with one objective, namely, to facilitate work and working opportunities for people, specifically younger people, to reduce the numbers of people in long-term unemployment and, above all, to reduce the percentage of people in youth unemployment. Activation is important and previous experiences show that it works. Under these work experience programmes, the rate will be much higher than anything before and they will be voluntary. People will engage in the schemes in a voluntary capacity. What we saw yesterday were real-life examples of people who had participated in programmes such as this and who not only got jobs but, in some instances, went on to found their own businesses and become job creators themselves.

Thank you, Taoiseach.

We come from a different world. The Deputy looks at it through a parallel universe. To be fair, he has a different perspective.

The time is up.

I happen to think the activation programme will work and I believe in it.

I call Deputy Lowry.

I want to point out that the Taoiseach did not answer any of the questions that were put to him.

Write to me if you are not happy, Deputy Murphy. I have called Deputy Lowry.