Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 12 Mar 1991

Vol. 406 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Special Employment Schemes.

Mr. Rabbitte

I am grateful to you, Sir, for the opportunity to raise in the House the chaos in the administration of the special employment schemes arising from the failure of the Government to provide sufficient funding. This failure has led to widespread termination and disruption of existing schemes, with minimum notice, in the west Dublin-Kildare region in particular but also throughout the country. Badly needed projects are being abandoned and workers being sent back on the dole queues. At a minimum the Government are guilty of incompetence; at worst of hypocrisy since these schemes are being terminated at the same time as the Government are obliged under the Programme for Economic and Social Progress to bring forward a limited initiative, on a pilot basis, targeted at the long term unemployed. How could the Government have got their figures so wrong?

In my own constituency alone, several badly needed projects are being abandoned and the organisers given minimal notice. Indeed, in the case of the Tallaght Centre for the Unemployed the jobs of 20 persons are threatened from 5 April and they have only now been advised. Their dismissal will have a serious knockon effect for community projects elsewhere in Tallaght. Also the jobs of 16 persons are threatened — six of them immediately, again with minimal notice — at Bohernabreena Community Enterprise. Fifteen persons are affected at the Alternative Entertainments Group in Tallaght. Their scheme will finish on 23 March and they were advised only yesterday. I have received this evening the brochure of the European City of Culture 1991. This Alternative Entertainments Group in Tallaght have only recently received funding from the Arts Council with a view to enabling them to participate in the City of Culture Year and they are now being signed to the dole queue from 23 March. A very valuable project involving Barnardos at St. Muireann's House is also at risk and there is uncertainty concerning the impact of various county council sponsored schemes in the area.

The impact of the FÁS circular for Tallaght alone must be viewed in the context of the relatively low uptake of the SES as a proportion of the unemployed in Tallaght and west Dublin generally compared to other regions of the country. I am awaiting later this week a specific response to a parliamentary question on this aspect, but from consultations with the trade unions I am satisfied that areas of greatest need such as Tallaght have the lowest uptake as a proportion of the live register. Therefore, the disintegration of such schemes as are up and running in the west Dublin-Kildare region must not be allowed happen. It would be grossly discriminatory against some of the worst employment black spots in Ireland if the Government fail to take immediate action to ensure the continuation of the schemes threatened. Let me read two paragraphs of the circular to one project sponsor that issued only yesterday from FÁS:

I regret to have to inform you that all recruitment to the above scheme, in the Dublin West and Kildare Region, has been temporarily suspended, effective immediately, due to budgetary constraints. The decision, unfortunately, covers projects where written approval has already been issued and includes non-replacement of drop outs and of current participants on expiry of their 52 week participation should this predate termination of project date.

In all cases participation will finish on current project expiry. Results of the recent meeting of the Monitoring Committee on 20/2/91, will be withheld until we are in a position to cater for new start ups. Should there be any relaxation in the situation, you will be notified immediately. However, current indications are that recruitment will re-commence in September 1991.

Any inconvenience to sponsors, participants and projects is very much regretted.

I think it is incumbent on the Minister to take some immediate action to prevent such a tragedy for employment black-spots. It does not make economic sense because these people are going back on the dole queues where the cost to the State is at least as much as allowing the schemes to be revitalised and continued.

Minister for Education (Mrs. O'Rourke)

First, let me apologise for the unavoidable absence of my colleague, Deputy Bertie Ahern, Minister for Labour. However, I am glad to be here this evening to respond to Deputy Rabbitte's submission on the Adjournment. His submission was of a general nature in the beginning and then he narrowed it to the job areas he mentioned. My reply will be of a general nature but part of it is expressly tailored to a point he raised which was the take-up percentage in his own area. I know the Minister for Labour will be reading what the Deputy has said and arising out of that he will be directly in touch with him.

We all know the SES is an intervention to assist the long term unemployed. It provides an opportunity for such persons to get a foothold back in the employment market. We all, from whatever region in the country we come, have overcome our initial suspicion which was there when all these schemes were launched in 1985, which now seems so long ago. The then Minister for Labour, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, brought in the proposal; I was the second speaker from the Opposition that day and I said I thought the schemes were a good idea. Westmeath has been the county with the second largest take-up of the scheme. That is only to say I have traced the progression of it. We know that people must be over 25 years of age and what their income must be. At the moment there are over 11,000 people on the SES involved with about 3,000 projects. Those projects can be sponsored by voluntary agencies or public sector bodies.

The Exchequer allocation in 1991 for the scheme is £58 million, an increase of over £7 million on the 1990 allocation. Together with the EC assistance of over £9 million an amount of £67 million will be provided in total for the SES in 1991. The level of expenditure will allow an average participation of 10,500. That will vary up and down as participants come and go and schemes come to their 12 monthly end and others would not have started. Everybody in the House will agree that the level of expenditure is significant. FÁS now operate on a regional basis with each region having its own budget to cover the provision of training and employment schemes in the area. This ensures a more equitable distribution of FÁS operations throughout the country resulting in some cases in requests for projects under the various schemes in parts of the country where a demand did not exist prior to the regionalisation process.

Mr. Rabbitte

All the more important not to let the Tallaght projects die.

Mrs. O'Rourke

That is the point I am addressing now, because the Deputy stated this evening that previous to this there had been a slower take-up perhaps in the region to which he referred than there had been in other regions. For that reason the Deputy felt that the process of the renewal of those schemes could be looked at in that guise. I will bring that to the attention of the Minister for Labour.

The level of funds available will allow about 10,500 people to be involved on projects throughout the country each week during the year. Last year the child dependant allowance, which has proved very attractive to older unemployed people, was introduced. Such people are now participating in the scheme in increasing numbers. About 57 per cent of participants have adult and child dependants, compared with only 30 per cent at the end of 1989. Those improvements had been sought for a long time and the suggestions had been put forward by unions and all sorts of interests throughout the country. The social employment schemes have enhanced the value of the payments to the participants.

The Minister is satisfied that participation in the scheme is very worthwhile and it helps people to improve their prospects of obtaining employment when opportunities arise. There is the added bonus that the projects on which the participants work are of significant benefit to local communities. The scheme has received universal favourable comment froms sponsors and participants and there has been heavy demand for more schemes from potential sponsors and participants. We should remind oursleves that the scheme was introduced to help the long term unemployed to gain a foothold in the labour market.

Projects which are likely to be ongoing would be well advised to look elsewhere for their staffing provisions towards the end of the 12 months of SES participation. The Minister for Labour is committed to making further improvements in the scheme as resources permit and he proposes to have a further review of the allowances and the numbers participating on an ongoing basis.

Mr. Rabbitte

I hope he will include Tallaght.

Mrs. O'Rourke

I will bring that to the Minister's attention in the context of the information put forward here tonight as to the regional aspects and the low take up of participants in that region.