Lord Mayor’s working group for employing ex-offenders
- Tue 17 January, 2017
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Brendan Carr has recently hosted a number of stakeholder meetings with the aim of finding employment for people with a criminal conviction. There are obvious barriers for ex-offenders in finding employment but it has been clearly shown that someone in employment is significantly less likely to re-offend while also providing the employer with a committed hard working employee.
There are significant financial supports for employing a person who has been unemployed for a period of time, such as JobsPlus. This is an incentive from the Department of Social Protection to encourage and reward employers who offer employment opportunities to the long term unemployed. Grants of €7,500 and €10,000 are available in the form of Employer PRSI Exemptions.
Post-employment supports are also provided by IASIO, an organisation which works with previous offenders, will work with employers and employees to smooth the person’s transition to the workplace and will assist with issues which may arise. IASIO will have assessed the people concerned and will have considered them as being ready for the work place before connecting them with potential employers.
Potential employers will even be invited to visit the prison environment to see the quality training that is being provided if this is of interest. For further information on the reasons that employers should consider participating and information on other supports that are available you’ll find more information in the IASIO frequently asked question section.
In improving the safety and perceptions of the city we all have a part to play. Ex-offenders may have skills and competencies that employers would be unaware of or previously not have considered. Providing the opportunity for employment is just one way that the business community can play its part. To get in touch with IASIO about potential new employees contact the Programmes Managers: Barry Owens at bowens@iasio.ie or Adrienne Higgins at ahiggins@iasio.ie.