Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 February 2017
132. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection to set out the eligibility criteria being used to fill vacancies on employment schemes such as rural social schemes and community employment schemes; his Department's short, medium and long-term plans for such schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8862/17]
View answerMy Department provides a range of activation supports and programmes catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. These include programmes such as Community Employment (CE) and Rural Social Scheme (RSS).
CE schemes provide part-time temporary work in their local communities, including opportunities for training and development as a stepping-stone back to employment, for people in receipt of a range of social welfare payments, including those on a long-term jobseeker’s payment. The standard minimum entry age for CE is 25 years of age. 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.
The RSS provides income support for farmers and fisherpersons who are currently in receipt of specified social welfare payments and the scheme helps to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. Eligibility for participation on the RSS scheme is limited to those in receipt of certain specified social welfare payments and all participants must also be actively engaged in farming or fishing.
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. The 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.
With the ongoing welcome reductions in the Live Register and the increasing number of job opportunities, the Deputy will appreciate that issues such as the appropriate level of expenditure, the number of places and the criteria for participation on employment schemes all need to be considered. I plan to bring a Memo for Government in the coming weeks about these matters. If there are changes to be made, consultations with stakeholders will be facilitated.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
