Vol. 507 No. 1
41 Mr. Deenihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans, if any, she has to change the regulations regarding people who are not considered on the live register with regard to employment incentive schemes in view of the fact many women who have been full-time housewives and now wish to return to work are excluded from these schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16169/99]
The community employment programme is designed specifically to target a particularly severely disadvantaged group of unemployed people, those registered long-term unemployed whose principal or only source of income is an unemployment compensation payment or certain other social welfare means tested payments. In addition, social welfare recipients with an adult dependant can swap their social welfare entitlement with their spouse or partner in order for that person to qualify for CE.
These are the persons who are at most disadvantage in accessing jobs in the open labour market and this targeting maximises the availability of places on CE by part financing the programme from savings in social welfare payments.
With regard to specific provision for women who wish to return to work following an extended absence from the labour market, FÁS provides return to work courses. This programme helps participants to develop the confidence necessary to re-enter the labour force and is also an important bridging programme for progression into employment or to other FÁS programmes. The programme is delivered on a part-time basis within local communities and 1,065 women completed return to work courses in 1998.
Many women do not undertake return to work training, instead they move directly into specific skills training programmes and into enterprise training programmes and from there into employment or self-employment. Anyone seeking a job or a suitable training programme can avail of the FÁS placement service.
