James Leonard
Ceist:163 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the number of people employed under social employment schemes on 1 November 1993, by each county council in the country.
Written Answers. - Social Employment Schemes.
There are currently about 19,500 participants on the social employment scheme/community employment development programme.
However, sub-national figures are a day today matter for FÁS. Therefore, I would suggest that the Deputy contact FÁS directly in the matter.
James Leonard
Ceist:164 Mr. Leonard asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he will review the terms under which the social employment scheme operates in view of the poor take-up of the scheme in some local authority areas despite large numbers on the live register.
An Exchequer allocation of £106 million approximately has been made available for the SES and the community employment development programme — CEDP — which operates in the 12Programme for Economic and Social Progress partnership areas, with a view to the participation of 20,500 persons by the end of the year. There are currently 19,500 in the SES/CEDP and, in general there has been no great problem of take-up on the schemes.
Recruitment of participants is normally done directly by sponsors but any sponsor, including a local authority, who is experiencing difficulties in recruiting participants should contact FÁS directly.
I should mention that I am reviewing generally the various employment schemes currently in operation with a view to determining whether and what adaptations might be appropriate to them in the light of current circumstances.