(1) The Minister, in respect of a class of persons prescribed by the Minister under subsection (2), may discriminate on the grounds of age in -

(a) providing, or arranging for and co-ordinating the provision of, a scheme, programme or assistance under section 359A(1)(a),

(b) assisting, whether financially or otherwise, in the provision of a scheme, programme or assistance referred to in section 359A(1)(a), or

(c) providing for any scheme or programme under section 359A(2).

(2) The Minister may prescribe a class or classes of persons for the purposes of subsection (1) where, on the basis of the information relating to the unemployment rate, the participation rate, or the average duration of unemployment compiled by the Central Statistics Office under section 10 of the Statistics Act 1993 and contained in the most recently published survey for the time being known as the Quarterly National Household Survey -