THE Government is considering how to make it more difficult for people signing on the Live Register to still receive payments after refusing offers of work or training, the Minister for Finance Mr Quinn has said.

Speaking to the Dail Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs yesterday, Mr Quinn said that apart from the Department of Social Welfare's efforts to curb fraud, the Government is also looking closely at the whole question of "conditionality" as it relates to people on the Live Register.

In order to sign on the Live Register, the Minister said a person must declare that he or she is genuinely seeking work. The person must also be capable of and available for work, he added. In this regard, Mr Quinn said the Government is considering the introduction of new measures to ensure that these criteria are being met.

The Government will be particularly looking to restrict the scope for people signing on to remain eligible for social welfare payments where they have turned down offers of work, training or places on an employment scheme, he told the committee.

Responding to a recent report complied by the all-party committee, Mr Quinn, said he welcomed much of its findings. The Minister however strongly rejected its call for the creation of a contingency fund in the 1997 Budget to cushion against unexpected economic shock after European Monetary Union.

In terms of future management of public spending, Mr Quinn said that one of his priorities was to curb the public service pay bill. By the end of next year, he said the number of civil servants would fall substantially, dropping from 30,500 to 29,400 under an agreed severance arrangement.