80. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department considered comparing the value of all State benefits an individual or a family could receive to an equivalent taxable salary. [31302/26]

My Department offers a range of benefits and payments for individuals and families depending on a number of factors, such as the contingency a person experiences, a person's age, the presence, and number, of dependents, household composition, social insurance contribution history and available means.

Any number of scenarios could be envisaged, all of which give a different total of State benefit payments. In any event, comparing this total to an equivalent taxable salary is not straightforward. For example, household composition may affect the payment of certain secondary benefits, such as Fuel Allowance, but not the taxable salary a person in that household could receive.

My Department has made available, through MyWelfare, a 'Benefit of Work' estimator, which provides information on how starting or increasing work may affect a person's social welfare payment. This tool is one of the ways my Department provides advice and support to facilitate the social and economic participation of people of working age.

Promoting participation in the workforce is a key policy objective. Through schemes such as Back to Education Allowance, which aims to raise the educational and skill levels of social welfare recipients to enable them to have better access to the labour market, and the Work and Access scheme, which is a set of supports to help disabled people get a job or stay in work, social welfare recipients are provided the support needed to encourage and maintain participation in the work force.