Job seekers are being encouraged to get involved in government schemes - such as Job Bridge and Springboard - to boost employment.

A National Employment Summit is being held in Dublin this week.

It aims to bring employers and job seekers closer together through a series of events and online forums.

This is one of the events taking place during National Employment Week - a forum focusing on the social and economic issues around employment in Ireland.

The Jobs Plus scheme is to be launched in the Summer, whichwill pay a portion of employer costs in recruiting a person who is long-term unemployed.

Goal 'to maximise number who leave Live Register'

The Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton addressed the conference this morning.

"Employers hiring a person who has been on the Live Register for between 12 and 24 months will qualify for a fixed grant payment of €7,500. In respect of recruits who have been more than 24 months on the Live Register, the fixed grant payment will increase to €10,000" she said.

"The plan also includes measures in the areas of ICT skills, health innovation and energy efficiency to name but a few - for example, the Government is establishing a €70 million Energy Efficiency Fund aimed at creating 5,000 jobs".

"My goal, as Minister for Social Protection, is to try to maximise the employment potential of these initiatives, and in particular, to maximise the number of people who leave the Live Register to take up the new jobs created" she added.