Vol. 569 No. 4
131 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the amount of money which was provided in each of the past five years towards the summer jobs scheme; if students from disadvantaged areas will be given practical assistance or support; and if he will make a statement on the way in which he expects area partnerships to deal with the issue as he has suggested they should, when he has also cut their budgets in a massive way. [17791/03]
137 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the progress of his consultation with the area partnership companies regarding the establishment, within their areas, of a replacement for the student summer jobs scheme; if such an alternative will be available in summer 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17747/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 137 together.
As I have outlined to the House on a number of occasions, a significant decline of interest in the student's summer jobs scheme has been observed over recent years. In light of this, and the availability of alternative better-paid summer employment for students, it was decided to discontinue the scheme.
The amount of funding made available to the scheme over the past five years was as follows:
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2003 |
€50,000* |
|
2002 |
€4,000,000 |
|
2001 |
€3,810,000 |
|
2000 |
£5,000,000 |
|
1999 |
£6,500,000 |
|
1998 |
£8,300,000 |
