Written Answers - EU Employment Programme.
John Bruton
Question:
46
Mr. J. Bruton
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
in relation to her Department's administration of the EU employment programme, the specific provision, budget, policy and rules which include initiatives relating to people with disabilities within the NOW and ADAPT strands of the programme; the number of projects approved under the NOW strand; the number of NOW projects approved by her Department which specifically relate to actions concerning women with disabilities; the number of project approved under the ADAPT strand; the number of ADAPT projects approved by her Department which specifically include actions concerning people with disabilities; and the publicity, if any, which has been given by her Department to increase the participation of people with disabilities within the NOW and ADAPT strands.
[6034/98]
A range of EU Community initiatives were adopted for the 1994-99 phase. These included the ADAPT initiative dealing with technological change and the EMPLOYMENT initiative dealing with several specified socially excluded groups. In Ireland, as in all other member states, operational programmes covering the implementation of both initiatives were then negotiated and agreed with the European Commission.
The EMPLOYMENT initiative aims to combat exclusion, disadvantage and inequality on the labour market. It has four distinctive but interrelated strands. HORIZON is targeted towards people experiencing difficulties on the labour market due to disability or other forms of social and economic disadvantage; Integra focuses on the reintegration into employment of people experiencing extreme disadvantage on the labour market; NOW promotes equality of opportunity for women; and Youthstart primarily seeks to address labour market disadvantage in respect of young people under 20 who leave the formal education and/or systems poorly qualified or unqualified.
Applicants for EMPLOYMENT funding self-select the strand most appropriate to the target group for which they seek project support. The EMPLOYMENT initiative is being implemented in two phases. The first public call for proposals was held in January-February 1995 which resulted in the receipt of 728 applications. Following a rigorous selection process, 132 projects were approved for European Social Fund aid amounting to £26 million to operate in the period 1996 to 1997. These projects provided training, guidance and other interventions to more than 25,000 people.
As the strand which caters specifically for people with disability, HORIZON provided training and other interventions for 673 people in 1996, of which 334 were women. By mid-1997, 553 women were among the 1,153 participants in HORIZON. End of year figures are not yet available.
Following the second call for proposals in January 1997, 447 aplications were received seeking approximately £120 million. The total ESF budget available is approximately £33 million. At this stage, the following number of projects have been approved for the period up to the end of 1999: HORIZON, 40; INTEGRA, 31; NOW, 32; and YOUTHSTART, 23. In line with the equality of opportunity objective, almost all projects applying to HORIZON cater for both men and women. In fact, two projects will cater exclusively for women.
Only one organisation submitted applications dealing specifically with disability under NOW. Neither of its two proposals were recommended for funding by the broadly based and independent selection committee established to examine proposals. During the assessment and selection phase for all project proposals submitted under the EMPLOYMENT initiative, consideration was given to the capacity of all projects to cater for people with disability. It is, therefore, probable that women with disability will participate in a number of NOW projects but until participants have been recruited, it will not be possible to identify the number.
ADAPT is a separate Community initiative supported by the European Social Fund, aimed at people in employment. Its primary focus is on the preservation of existing jobs and the creation of new ones. It aims to support and help organisations and workers to anticipate and prepare for industrial change. In parallel with the EMPLOYMENT initiative, a public call for proposals was made in January 1995 and resulted in the receipt of 240 applications. Forty-four proposals were approved for funding in the period 1996 to 1997 with a budget of approximately £8.8 million One project was funded under the "Training Systems Development" measure of the Operational Programme and focused specifically on the employment needs of people with disabilities. Its aim was to train personnel in mainstream employer organisations to equip them with the skills for training people with learning disabilities. The project was completed in December 1997.
A further call for project proposals in January 1996 resulted in the receipt of 152 proposals of which 32 have been approved for funding. The total budget for the period is approximately £9.9 million. Only one promoter submitted an application dealing specifically with disability. This project was not recommended by the broadly based independent selection committee.
The ADAPT initiative is aimed at people in employment and does not distinguish between able-bodied and disabled people. The various calls for proposals and other publicity for both EMPLOYMENT and ADAPT since 1994 identified the various strands such as HORIZON for the disabled under which funding was available. Equally, as evidenced by the fact of projects involving the disabled in other stands of EMPLOYMENT and the ADAPT initiatives there was and is no barrier against such projects.
