Vol. 428 No. 6
5 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment whether the budget allocation to FÁS for social employment schemes and community enterprise development programmes will permit the target of 30,000 participants to be reached during 1993.
The Programme for a Partnership Government indicates that in the context of the Community Support Framework 1994-1997 we will seek EC support for the community enterprise development programme and that the aim will be to move towards a participation level of 30,000 each year.
The funding available this year for the social employment scheme/community employment development programme is £83.811 million. This will allow for an average participation level of around 13,500 compared with 12,000 in 1992.
Will the Minister agree that despite the arrival of the new Government with is commitment to the social employment scheme, an instruction has been issued to FÁS offices to cut the number of participants in the social employment scheme from 15,500 now to 10,000 by the end of the year? Will he agree that this is out of kilter with the commitment the Government has made to expand the scheme? May I further ask him the reason he decided to abolish the community employment development programme some time ago?
I did not decide to abolish the community employment development programme. Changes were proposed in relation to the additional benefits which the 3,000 participants in the pilot programme would have been eligible to receive in addition to those to which they were entitled under the terms and conditions of the social employment scheme. It was proposed that these should be changed but we reversed this decision in the light of the representations to us by the social partners. I was happy to acknowledge that the representations by the social partners were well meant and intentioned and we took the necessary corrective action. In regard to FÁS we are trying to ensure that there will be stability in the operation of the social employment scheme to remove what has bedevilled the operation of FÁS schemes over a number of years, the stop-go approach which made it extremely difficult for FÁS regional offices to regulate in an orderly manner the way in which the programme worked. I am in consultation with the Department of Finance to deal with that matter. There is a further question on the Order Paper which deals with this matter in more detail.
Will the Minister agree that when we cut away the verbiage he is saying we are cutting back on the social employment scheme and that we will not allow any new participants to be enrolled? Is it a fact that one of his own Government backbenchers is asking why is this happening?
I welcome questions from any Member of this House, including backbenchers who, frequently, tend to be forgotten by Administrations. I have no problem in taking any question from any backbencher and the Deputy should not read anything into that. In 1993 we will increase the total number of participants on the social employment scheme——
I am sorry if the facts hurt, Deputy——
They do not hurt.
In 1992, the average participation level was 12,000 whereas the budget provides for a participation level of 13,500 in 1993. As I said, I hope to be in a position, within the overall Estimate, to increase that figure to at least 15,000. This would represent a significant increase.
That should have been included in the Programme for Government.
If we are to have a reply to Question No. 6 in the name of Deputy Rabbitte it must be responded to now.
