Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons (including those with a disability) with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed term basis. The qualifying criteria for Community Employment participation are intended to facilitate the movement of participants, allowing new participants who may not otherwise have such an opportunity to avail of the programme.
A person in receipt of credits from Social Welfare would not be eligible to obtain a position on a FÁS Community Employment Project. Persons must be at least 12 months in receipt of a payment (e.g. Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseekers Benefit, One Parent Family Payment etc.) in order to qualify. Any unemployed person can apply to participate on a FÁS training programme. However, priority is given to people in receipt of payments from the Department of Social and Family Affairs.