Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2013
149. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection of the 2000 new community employment places announced on 19 January 2013, the number that will be allowed for longer than one year. [4058/13]
View answer175. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection of the 2,000 new community employment places announced on 19 January 2013, the number that will be ring fenced for those in receipt of disability allowance or for drugs projects or childcare places. [4059/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 175 together.
The 2,000 additional places for the Community Employment (CE) programme announced in Budget 2013 will be an ongoing commitment to the programme and will increase the overall number of CE places to 25,300 inclusive of Supervisor posts. These places will be approved on a phased basis from the end of January to the end of the year, in line with the overall CE budget allocation. Schemes have been notified of the availability of these additional places and the application process.
The allocation of the 2,000 CE places will be informed by the following criteria:
- The population of long-term unemployed persons in each regional Division of the Department, the number of claimants on Jobseekers Allowance, lone parents and disability claimants in receipt of a welfare payment for 52 weeks or more.
- Priority will be given to schemes and organisations who are involved in the delivery of community childcare services, social and healthcare services for people with a disability. This is in order to support the provision of these services and offer training qualifications and work experience to CE participants. An allocation of 500 of the additional places will be reserved for childcare support and 500 of the additional places for social and health-related services.
- Priority will be given to applicants who are involved in Drug Rehabilitation Services and who consider participation on CE to be a further step in this process. Additional CE places will be made available to respond to new proposals.
- There is scope to encourage innovation, new approaches and models of delivery from organisations who are experienced in addressing the needs of long-term unemployed. Approximately 100 places will be reserved for such proposals. However, this will be reviewed on the basis of the quality of applications received.
- The balance of places will be made available to schemes who can demonstrate a clear justification on the basis of quality of service and performance.
- For all applications, priority will be given to schemes and organisations who can demonstrate a track record in the development and progression of participants into employment.
The supply of the additional 2,000 CE places will be based on the demand and capacity of CE sponsoring organisations both existing schemes and new applicants to deliver activities that benefit the jobseeker and add value to the local community in line with the criteria outlined above. The standard CE eligibility criteria will apply to participants taking up these additional places. Persons in continuous receipt of a CE-qualifying social welfare payment for at least 52 weeks are eligible to apply for participation on CE. The duration on CE will be determined by the profile of the CE participant as is currently the case. The Department is committed to the continuing improvement of CE to ensure value for money, progression of the job seeker and support for communities.
