Today is a wet, miserable day, the kind of miserable day to make one wonder, even if one had a job, whether one should get up but, for the 300,000 people who signed the live register today, or who will sign it tomorrow, I am sure when they looked out this morning they wondered whether there was anything worth getting up for.
Scattered throughout the length and breadth of this country are communities in every niche and corner with social employment schemes at the ready, in the traps, all set to go, all awaiting the green light from the Minister. They have been organised by FÁS, Manpower staff and placement staff. They are avid communities who want to put in place recreation schemes, sporting schemes, cultural schemes in order to enhance their communities.
One of the best schemes ever devised has been the social employment scheme because it has given, particularly the long term unemployed, an opportunity to face into the open daylight with dignity. It has given them a sense of purpose and motivation. It has enabled people who have been on the live register for three and four years, very often longer, the incentive to take a shovel, trowel, a saw, or spirit level into their hand and go out and engage in work and at the same time, contribute to their community.
Surely it is economic lunacy, at a time when there is so much work to be done, so many people ready, willing and able to do it, to pay anybody £55 unemployment assistance when, for a mere £15 supplement, the same people could be engaged for one year on a social employment scheme as part of a team or community effort?
I have been approached by people and communities in County Mayo, in particular, and in adjacent Counties Galway and Roscommon on the periphery of my constituency, who have been told that no further social employment schemes will go ahead in County Mayo in particular until November or December next. We are facing into the summer season, with, I hope, better weather than we have had to date, into long, daylight hours and it is absolute economic lunacy to hold back on the stocks social employment schemes, not give them the green light until October, November or pre-Christmas. The obvious thing would be to give them the go-ahead and make money available to enable the communities concerned to harness and exploit natural resources, such as daylight, and to maximise the return. I appeal to the Minister to use his good offices with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment to have additional means made available to enable those communities who are avid, willing, hungry and ready to go to proceed with work on the schemes in the next few weeks so that they can maximise the return during the summer months.