Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 July 2015
47. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will meet with organisations from the Dublin 15 area taking part in community employment schemes to discuss the ending of community employment for those in the schemes beyond two years. [29361/15]
View answer48. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she is aware of the social impact on 15 participants in an area (details supplied) in Dublin 15 of not renewing their participation in a community employment scheme. [29362/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 48 together.
There are main two streams of participation on Community Employment (CE). These streams and the limitations on participation have been a feature of CE procedures from as far back as the 1990s.
The first stream is called the Part-Time Job option and is for persons who are over 35 years of age and have spent 3 continuous years on the Live Register. Persons who participate on CE under this option can qualify for up to 3 years (which can increase to 6 years after the reaching the age of 55), subject to their extended participation being approved annually.
The second stream is called the Part-Time Integration option and is for persons over the age of 25 who have spent less than 3 years on the Live Register. This option now accounts for most of the participants on CE. Participants can qualify for up to 2 years; however their extended participation to a second year is subject to certain criteria as set out in the scheme guidelines. Participants who are granted a second year under this option cannot continue on that or any other scheme after the 2 year term has been reached. They are required to have spent a further period of 12 months on the Live Register before being eligible to participate on CE again.
There are currently 18 CE participants engaged by the project referred to in the Deputy’s question, 4 of whom qualified to participate under the Part-Time Job option; the remaining 14 participants qualified to participate under the Part-Time Integration option. Of those 14 participants, 4 have exceeded their maximum permitted time of 2 years on CE under the Part-Time Integration option. However 3 of them are exempt from the 2 year limit by virtue of the fact that they commenced CE prior to the announcement on 8th October 2012 regarding the Part-Time Integration option. The fourth participant, despite will in this instance be allowed to see out their current term on CE.
The Department has reviewed the eligibility of each participant and found that 1 participant was incorrectly categorised under the Part-Time Integration option. The participant in question will be re-categorised under the Part-Time Job option and will be eligible to apply for a third year on CE.
