Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 February 2015
19. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the proposed changes being considered in the administration of the RSS, Tús and community employment schemes; the cost of administration per participant for each of the three schemes; the cost of supervision per participant for each of the three schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4711/15]
View answerThe Department will spend more than €1 billion in 2015 on work, training and education places in support of jobseekers getting back to work. The rural social scheme (RSS), Tús and community employment (CE) continue to play an important role in this regard and the Department is continuing to work with implementing and sponsor bodies to improve the delivery of the schemes. These improvements include:
- Ensuring that eligibility criteria across activation and other schemes is complementary and is in line with the policy objectives set out in Pathways to Work;
- Streamlining the way in which jobseekers can access schemes, including referrals from case officers where a work placements is deemed to be beneficial to a jobseeker in getting back to work or accessing training; and
- Allowing transfer between schemes to better meet the needs of particular jobseekers.
The delivery cost of RSS will be of the order of €2.3 m in implementing body costs and €4.7m in supervision and monitoring costs. Delivery costs of Tús will be of the order of €8.3m in implementing body costs and €15m in supervision, monitoring and participant development costs. The delivery costs for CE will be €56m for supervision and €13.5m for materials which covers the operating costs of the scheme. An additional cost of €6m is approved for the development of CE participants for employment.
The estimated costs of the schemes reflect a number of factors that are not directly comparable. For example, services delivered by implementing bodies for Tús include recruitment costs relating to the full turnover of participants numbers annually plus costs of supporting jobseekers requiring further development or training before placement. On the other hand, CE schemes have a significant training component with is not a part of Tús or the RSS, while the RSS has a higher level of input costs in terms of material costs, compliance and travel costs. The Department will arrange to provide the Deputy with detailed costs of each of the schemes shortly.
I want to reassure the Deputy that resources for the delivery of the schemes in 2015 will remain close to the 2014 levels.
