The pattern of participation on the Community Employment (CE) programme is dependent on the individual circumstance of each person and the length of time she has been in receipt of a CE-qualifying social welfare payment.
In general, cumulative lifetime participation on CE by an individual will be limited to:
- 3 years (156 weeks) for persons under 55 years of age; or
- 6 years (312 weeks) for persons of 55 years of age up to State Pension age.
This means that a CE-eligible person of 55 or over, who had not participated on CE prior to their 55th birthday, could potentially participate on CE up to the cumulative maximum of 6 years. However, if a person has already participated on CE when they were under 55, they can only avail of the balance of the CE time up to the cumulative maximum of 6 years participation, once they reach the age of 55.
The Deputy should note that I recently launched a pilot scheme under CE whereby people who are 62 years and over will have the option of participating on the scheme on a continuous basis, until they reach the State Pension age.
The participation limits that have been set allow for the utilisation of places amongst qualifying persons, to ensure the benefit of CE is available to the widest possible number of jobseekers. The Department keeps all aspects of its activation programmes under review to ensure the best outcomes for participants.
Any CE participant with a query regarding their participation duration can contact their local Intreo Office for further information.
