GALWAY MINISTER WELCOMES GOVERNMENT WORK SCHEME

Date Published: 23-Feb-2012

A Galway Junior Minister says the Government's new 'Pathways to Work' scheme will change the way our social welfare system interacts with the long term unemployed.

Minister for Training and Skills, Ciaran Cannon, says the 'one stop shop' will help the unemployed begin the journey back to work, with more focus on matters such as counselling, job, education and CV advice.

It also contains a threat to dole payments, if social welfare recipients don't engage with the system to try and find a job.

23 thousand people across Galway were registered unemployed at the end of January, almost 12 thousand of whom are based in the city.

The scheme is to be rolled out in the main urban areas such as Galway, Dublin and Limerick over the next 2 years.