Officials of Government departments responsible for administering social welfare are to be questioned by the Dail Committee of Public Accounts about possible abuses of the system.

The committee's chairman, Mr Jim Mitchell, said yesterday it was hard to avoid the conclusion that abuses were occurring when there were so many jobs available.

He said "the abuse element" would be "confronted by this committee in a very serious way" with the secretary generals of the Departments of Social, Community and Family Affairs, and Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The numbers on the Live Register had been reduced to 220,000 but there were labour shortages everywhere and students were being attracted away from their studies into the jobs market.

"We have had phenomenal economic growth. It is just absolutely unacceptable to this committee that there are so many job vacancies".

There were undoubtedly people who needed welfare payments, he added, and these and the taxpayer were being robbed by those abusing the system.

Mr Paul Haran, secretary general of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, who appeared before the committee, said there was now a systematic engagement with people on the dole and the reduction in the Live Register in the past 12 months had been "somewhat assisted by increased enforcement".

"Not working is not regarded as an acceptable activity," he said.

The Department was seeking to build a support structure for people trying to find employment; an activation plan had been introduced in September for unemployed people under the age of 25.

Mr Mitchell also questioned what was being done to encourage greater female participation in the labour market and to entice emigrants home. Mr Haran replied that there was a general approach to increase overall participation rates. A breakdown in the apprenticeship system over a number of years had resulted in the current skills shortfall in the construction industry.