Éamon Ó Cuív
Question:68. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans for the community services programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30809/14]
Other Questions
Community Services Programme
I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Burton, on her appointment as Tánaiste. I also congratulate the Aire Stáit, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, on his appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for activation. The idea behind putting the activation programmes in the Department with the social welfare payments was to try to reduce the amount being paid to people to do nothing and to increase their opportunities to do something. The community services programme, which has not been expanded in recent years, is one of the best schemes because of the social, practical and community gains associated with it. I would like to Minister of State to tell us what he is going to do to use the potential of the community services programme for the good of society. I know it is a bit early for him to reflect on the matter, given that he has been in office for just an hour
I thank the Deputy for the congratulations he has extended to myself and the Aire Stáit.
Regarding the community services programme, CSP, it is designed to address gaps in service delivery and disadvantage and ensure community facilities are utilised. It is a very valuable resource for important work done by not-for-profit companies and co-operatives in local communities throughout the country as well as supporting employment. The programme is funded by the Department with day-to-day management of contracts undertaken by Pobal. Around 420 not-for-profit companies and co-operatives shared annual funding of €46 million under the programme in 2013, with similar levels of funding being provided this year.
Contract holders operate community or social enterprises that are able to deliver tangible services capable of generating non-public revenues from their operations by way, in some cases, of charging fees, sales and-or fund-raising. The programme is not intended to represent full funding for any operation. Rather, funding is provided on the basis of a contribution to the cost of full-time staffing positions to support the delivery of the service and can include management and non-management elements. The contribution to a management position is €32,000 per annum and €19,033 to a non-management position.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
The programme can also provide additional financial support where revenue-earning opportunities are limited, to support the development or transition of a service provider and-or to meet other short duration cashflow shortfalls.
The programme directly supported around 2,700 people in the delivery of services during 2013. In addition, the Department estimates that between 300 and 400 additional people are engaged in supported companies without further State support.
CSP is one of a number of schemes operated by my Department which contributes to the social economy in this country. As Minister, I will be making provision for this scheme in that context in the forthcoming budget.
I thank the Minister for the graphic description of and information on a scheme I set up. Explaining to me how the scheme works is superfluous; I have a fair idea how the scheme works. The question was not about how the scheme works. If I had wanted to ask that question I would have asked it. I want to know the Minister's plans for the future and what she intends to do to expand the scheme. As she is aware, many well-built, large community facilities throughout the country are not open as many hours as we would wish. They have income-generating capacity but not to pay the full cost. We have many heritage sites, tourist facilities and so on. I mentioned the Dunbrody in Wexford, an ideal case of a loss leader in the town funded through the community services programme or, for example, Athenry Castle in the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's constituency. It would not survive without the community service programme, which is of huge benefit to the wider economy. I could name endless projects throughout the country.
Go raibh maith agat.
Has the Minister plans to expand the scheme to provide services the public needs, to make sure facilities on which a great deal of money was spent are used to their ultimate ability to give people the opportunity to work, and to give an opportunity for these facilities to generate more income?
I will come back to the Deputy.
I am aware of the Deputy's role in the scheme. As I said, it is a valuable scheme that is continuing to flourish. While I cannot comment on any budgetary matter regarding next year's budget, I value the scheme. Some 2,700 people are directly supported in the delivery of services during 2013, and the Department estimates that between 300 and 400 additional people are engaged in supported companies without further State support because of the other fund-raising or revenue-based activities they are able to generate. It contributes strongly to the social economy. I confirm that I will be providing for this scheme in that context in the forthcoming budget but I am not in a position at this point, as the Deputy will appreciate, to indicate the level of funding in the forthcoming budget.
It would be remiss of me not to mention that there was another huge plus with this scheme for people who would not normally access employment opportunities such as people with disabilities, Travellers and so on. It ensured people who might not otherwise access employment got real employment in a real job under the scheme. Will the Tánaiste agree that this is within her remit because taking into account that most of these projects employ extra people and pay extra wages out of their own resources, in other words, they generate their own income, and taking into account the savings in social welfare, the tax contributions, the PRSI contributions and so on, the scheme is self-financing?
Could she articulate that it is her intention in expanding activation, which is why her good Minister of State is beside her, that the community services programme will play a key role, as I would hope the rural social and Tús schemes would, in the expansion of activation opportunities, in particular for the long-term unemployed?
I am glad the Deputy is so supportive of activation. As the Deputy is probably aware, at this point in time, the amount spent by the Department of Social Protection on activation is approximately €1 billion. It is a very significant increase at a time when budgets are under severe pressure. That €1 billion does not include family income supplement for families with children on low income. This year I estimate that we will spend a further €280 million on family income supplement. The matters which the Deputy raised are at the centre of activation.
I was glad to hear the Deputy refer to the Tús scheme. At any one time, there are approximately 7,700 people on the Tús scheme. I will ask the new Aire Stáit to look at all of these areas. I meet people all the time who have taken up a Tús scheme place and, by and large, they are anxious to contribute. Sometimes people talk about people being obliged to get involved in schemes. My experience is entirely contrary - I see the Deputy nodding - and there is a queue of people who are anxious to take up places, get active and participate in the community. Obviously, it is subject to overall budgetary requirements but I am with the Deputy on that.
Local Enterprise Offices Remit
Seán Kyne
Question:69. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the level of engagement between her Department and its local offices and the newly-established local enterprise offices in terms of assisting persons with securing employment or support for establishing a new business; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30896/14]
I too congratulate the Minister on her appointment as Tánaiste and Deputy Kevin Humphreys on his appointment as Minister of State. I wish to ask the Tánaiste about the level of engagement between her Department and its local offices and the newly established local enterprise offices in terms of assisting persons with securing employment or establishing a new business.
I thank the Deputy for his congratulations to myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys.
I welcome the establishment of the new network of 31 local enterprise offices. These will be the key mechanism through which people will connect at local level with all the appropriate information that they need in order to start, grow and succeed in business. As part of Pathways to Work, we are also working to enhance the co-ordination of activities across all State organisations which deal with employers. In this context, a protocol of co-operation was signed in November 2013 between the Department, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and all of the enterprise development agencies, not only the local enterprise offices, LEOs, but also Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. A briefing for Department's regional managers and their LEO counterparts was held in Dublin Castle last February. The briefing was attended by top management from all of the relevant Departments and the education and training boards and senior management from the various enterprise agencies, including the IDA and Enterprise Ireland.
From the Department's perspective, the aim of this interaction is to maximise the opportunities for the recruitment of jobseekers from the live register to facilitate the taking up of self-employment and to ensure that their companies are properly informed of, and have access to, the employment supports provided by my Department. These actions are delivered at a local and regional level between the Department's operating divisions and its enterprise agency counterparts, including the LEOs.
The Department's employer pack contains information on the range of supports and services provided by the Department, including the back-to-work enterprise allowance, which is very popular. At any one time, approximately 10,000 people are exercising that option. It is for people who wish to become self-employed or to start their own businesses on a slightly bigger scale. There are more than 10,000 persons starting up businesses supported by this payment from the Department. In addition, other supports are available such as JobPlus which provides incentives to employers to recruit the long-term unemployed as well as JobBridge. I am very open to better and to more co-operation.
I thank the Minister for her response. I welcome the agreement between the Department, local enterprise offices, IDA Ireland, education and training boards, and Enterprise Ireland. Is she confident this arrangement is working on the ground? Is she confident someone on social welfare assistance can get back into it if their new employment or business does not work out? Recently, I was dealing with an individual who got a short period of employment but could not get through to the social welfare office in Galway on the 1890 500 800 number. His claim was eventually stopped and it took some time to get it restarted. There was talk about introducing a text system for those social welfare recipients who get short periods of employment. Has this been considered?
To help jobseekers and get employers more involved, we have set up an employer engagement unit in the Department which now has more than 35 staff. Up to 600 staff in the Department's regional divisions work on employment services with both employers and jobseekers. As part of this structure, there are dedicated officers at the senior management level leading the employment process with employers at divisional level. Some time ago, I also established with the Taoiseach a labour market advisory council, chaired by Mr. Martin Murphy, managing director of Hewlett Packard Ireland, and made up of a significant number of large employers. This has resulted again in a strong focus on getting employers to include people from the live register for job interviews and, it is hoped, possible employment.
Deputy Tóibín is not in the Chamber for his question, so it will be taken with Written Answers.
Question No. 70 replied to with Written Answers.
One-Parent Family Payments
Finian McGrath
Question:71. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection not to allow the 27% cut to the lone-parent allowance in July as this will lead to more families and children in poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30948/14]
The one-parent family payment, OFP scheme supports over 74,400 recipients at an estimated cost of €863 million in 2014. Despite significant levels of State spending, the results have been poor in tackling poverty rates among lone-parent families. The aim of the current reforms is to provide the necessary supports to lone parents to help them to escape joblessness by providing them with improved access to education, training and employment programmes.
The reforms to the OFP scheme are being introduced on a phased basis over several years. On 3 July, the latest phase of the OFP reforms was implemented when 5,140 lone parents transferred entitlement from OFP to other schemes. Affected persons with a child aged under 14 years will be entitled to the jobseeker's allowance transitional arrangement, which exempts them from having to be genuinely seeking, and available for, full-time employment. This enables lone parents with young children who are working part-time, for example, mornings only, to remain in work and to receive income and activation supports as appropriate. Others affected will transfer to family income supplement, jobseeker's allowance, carer’s allowance and some other schemes.
The majority of recipients will not suffer any reduction in their new payment as they are not working. However, lone parents who are working and who transfer to jobseeker's allowance may suffer a reduction in their payment due to the fact that the jobseeker's allowance means test is less generous than the OFP means test. The exact amount of this reduction will depend on the customers’ earnings. However, the Department has advised all individuals that where they work a minimum of 19 hours per week or can increase their hours to that level, to apply for the family income supplement as this is the most beneficial income support available to them.
I thank the Minister for her response. I also congratulate her and wish her well in her new portfolio. I also wish my former city council colleague, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, all the best and congratulate him on his appointment as Minister of State. It is a great day for his family and all his friends and I wish him well in the future. To be honest, I know he will have a good feel for social welfare.
It is very important that we keep our eye on the ball in dealing with children living in poverty. It is necessary to intervene early and to give support to families. I welcome what the Minister said about family income supplement. It is a key part of the strategy. If we want children to develop, we must target those in poverty. I urge the Minister to make the issue a major priority in the next two years.
I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks, in particular those relating to his former city council colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys.
The critical issue is to focus on the outcomes. Although the State has invested, properly, very significant resources in one-parent families, I remain concerned that, as has been shown in a range of studies, the outcomes are not as strong as they might be. With the new structures we are moving to, we will be doing what many countries we admire in terms of social welfare provision are doing, which is to encourage people at a certain stage, when their children are well settled in school, and through a whole set of supports to go back to education, training and ultimately to employment. I have made significant additional resources available in respect of family income supplement to provide a top-up for families with children. The Deputy might have seen a recent report by the ESRI showing that among households without significant amounts of work for adults, lone parents are among the family units which might have such difficulty. We will emphasise the opportunities around training and education in order that people can take them up at an appropriate time, and we hope that will help many people to get a fairly well-paying job.
As Deputy O'Donovan is not present we will move on to a question from Deputy Kyne.
Questions Nos. 72 and 73 replied to with Written Answers.
JobsPlus Scheme
Seán Kyne
Question:74. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the progress to date of the JobsPlus scheme; the number of participants; if there are figures available to show the performance of the initiative on a regional basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30897/14]
I wish to ask the Minister about the progress on the JobsPlus scheme, the number of participants and the performance of the scheme on a regional basis.
JobsPlus provides a direct monthly financial incentive to employers who recruit employees from those who are long term on the live register. The incentive is payable monthly over two years if the employee is retained in full-time employment for those two years. JobsPlus is biased in favour of those who are longer-term unemployed. The value of the aggregate monthly payment is €7,500 for employing a jobseeker who has been on the live register for 12 to 24 months and €10,000 if the jobseeker was on the live register for more than two years, in other words, very long-term unemployed. A provision of €13.5 million has been included in the Vote of the Department for the scheme in 2014. Since its launch in July 2013 to the end of June 2014, JobsPlus has supported 2,634 jobseekers in full-time employment with 2,007 employers nationally. Approximately 60% of jobseekers being supported had been on the live register for more than two years at the time of recruitment. That is a very positive outcome. I am sure Deputy Kyne will appreciate that the longer people are unemployed, often the harder it is for them to get a breakthrough in getting back to work.
I thank the Minister for the information. The scheme has been welcomed by many companies in Galway where there has been significant progression towards employment.
I thank the Deputy. As the House is filling up I ask all Deputies to make sure that employers in their constituency and local area are knowledgeable about the availability of JobsPlus because it is a very positive achievement for an individual who has been on the live register for one year or two years to get back to work. It is also very positive for their families and the local community.