I am sure Deputy Howlin is fully aware that one does not necessarily pay a great deal of attention to everything one reads in the newspapers. I accept there has been some con fusion with regard to the reduction in CE places, but much of it has been caused by inaccurate comments from people in this House and elsewhere. The Government decided last year to reduce CE places from 25,000 to 20,000. That was the only decision taken by Government in this regard and it has now been implemented.
Accepting that there has been some difficulty for schemes throughout the country as a result of that reduction, it is important to point out that the decision was taken against a background of a reduction in long-term unemployment to its current level of 1.5% and the issue of 45,000 work permits within the past 12 months. I do not agree that confusion has been caused by my Department. We have gone through a very comprehensive review process across a number of Departments, which also involved FÁS. Following completion of that process, proposals are now before Government, which will take decisions in the context of the 2004 Estimates.
I reject Deputy Howlin's suggestion that there have been attempted trade-offs or anything of that nature. In our Department, the Tánaiste and I are interested in putting in place a comprehensive approach which will involve an active labour market programme to give long-term unemployed people an opportunity to get back into the labour force, through more successfully focused training opportunities than they have had until now. We are also anxious to provide for the very significant range of community services which have developed on an ad hoc basis, but which have, we acknowledge, been very useful and successful. We are trying to put those two policy objectives in place – that is the thrust of our proposal which is before the Government.