Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 October 2016
41. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the rule whereby jobseekers need to have been signing on for three years to qualify for more than 12 months on a community employment scheme, in view of the important community functions performed by community employment participants and the need for further time for retraining of these workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28743/16]
View answerCommunity Employment (CE) forms an important pillar in the strategy to assist long-term unemployed people return to the open labour market. It does this through the provision of opportunities within local communities to gain work experience and training qualifications, while at the same time, supporting the delivery of important services to communities.
The current eligibility criteria for the programme have been expanded over the years. The criteria have been set to specifically target certain groups for the programme. The basic eligibility requirement is that a person must be currently in receipt of a CE-qualifying payment from my Department for the requisite period of time, for example, jobseeker’s allowance for a minimum period of twelve months.
In general participants can avail of 12 months' participation on CE. Lifetime cumulative participation on CE by an individual is limited to 3 years (156 weeks) for persons under 55 years of age and 6 years (312 weeks) for persons of 55 years of age up to and including 65 years of age. Eligible persons in receipt of a qualifying disability-linked social welfare payment are eligible for one additional year on CE over the standard maximum participation caps.
There are no plans to change the above rules as this would result in a reduction in throughput from the scheme, thereby reducing the overall number of CE beneficiaries per year.
The eligibility criteria for CE places is kept under on-going review to ensure they are effective in targeting long-term unemployed jobseekers and other specific disadvantaged groups. My Department is committed to continuing to enhance the effectiveness of the CE Programme and is conscious of the valuable contribution it is making in the provision of services to individuals and communities across Ireland.
As you might be aware a review of CE schemes was conducted by the Department. I met with my Senior Officials who have responsibility for CE schemes at the end of August to discuss the findings of this review. It is hoped that I will be in a position to bring a memo to Government by the end of the year.
