asked the Minister for Labour if he will relax the regulation which debars participants who have completed one year on a social employment scheme from re-entering the scheme.
Written Answers. - Social Employment Scheme.
30.
The Social Employment scheme is specifically designed for the long term unemployed over 25 years old, in order to facilitate their re-entry into the active labour market.
With the limited resources at my disposal, I am trying to ensure that as many long term unemployed people as possible benefit from the scheme. I must, therefore, restrict recruitment to this category as much as possible and place a limit on the duration of participation.
As an extremely exceptional measure on rare occasions participation beyond one year was allowed. I should add, however, that the more places that fall into an exceptional category, the fewer long term unemployed people can be given a chance to participate in any year. I am also concerned to ensure that a scheme set up to provide temporary employment could gradually become a means of providing public funding for quasi-permanent jobs.
Finally, to help persons completing their term on a social employment scheme, I have agreed that the normal requirements of 13 weeks' registration with and receipt of unemployment compensation from the Department of Social Welfare be waived for the employment incentive and the enterprise schemes.