Vol. 474 No. 3
44 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the number of people working in the social economy; his Department's definition of the social economy; whether he recognises job potential in this sector; if his attention has been drawn to pilot projects in this sector; and the long-term plans, if any, he has for the development of this sector. [2900/97]
The potential of the social economy has been identified by a wide range of commentators, from the EU in its 1993 White Paper to a recent report by the NESF, as offering a major source of new jobs particularly suitable to those with non-technical skills. Although the social economy is not in itself a new development in Ireland, I am aware of a number of innovative projects which are under way. Most of these have received significant Government support through the community employment programme and now the Jobs Initiative. CE and the Jobs Initiative between them allow for 41,000 places, the majority of which would lie in social economy type areas.
There is little consensus on the definition and extent of the social economy. The term usually refers to the continuum of employment related to social needs which falls between existing services provided by the State sector and market-based private enterprise services. Accordingly its exact extent will vary between countries and over time. It can in the broadest sense include a wide range of forms of collective action such as housing associations, co-operatives and credit unions as well as individually provided services.
My Department has recently commissioned, in conjunction with the Office of the Tánaiste, a consultancy study on the social economy with a brief, inter alia, to suggest a working definition of the social economy in an Irish context, to assess its potential for development and to identify barriers and constraints to its success, taking existing research into account. This has involved wide consultations with groups already active in the social economy. I hope to receive the consultants' report shortly and will give it my fullest consideration.
I expect that this will be a useful input both in the short-term in looking at existing Government schemes which could contribute to the development of the social economy and in the longer term in providing a basis for the deliberations of the forthcoming working group on the social economy to be set up on foot of a commitment in Partnership 2000. In the light of the consultancy findings I will also be looking closely at the operations of my own Department, seeking to ensure a coherent approach to the development of this significant economic area.
I am convinced that the social economy can produce services of real value which can enhance our quality of life, and genuine employment that offers job satisfaction and leads to better mainstream prospects for the long-term unemployed.
