Vol. 503 No. 2
99 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason places on community employment schemes are being cut back; when this decision was made public; the extent of the cut back; if FÁS has been ordered to make immediate savings; her views on the decision by FÁS to lay off people before their year is completed; the reason it must be done in this manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9542/99]
The purpose of the community employment programme is to equip long-term unemployed and socially excluded persons with experience and workplace skills to enable them to take up a job in the open labour market. Community employment has operated at a level of around 40,000 participants for the past several years. The appropriateness of maintaining participation at this level, at a time of increasing tightening in the labour market, has been under consideration for some time and was specifically addressed in the recent independent review of the programme by Deloitte & Touche.
That review recommended that the participation level should be reduced on a phased basis by 6,000 to 8,000 places. It also recommended a number of other reforms aimed generally at improving the targeting and outcomes of community employment and improving the quality of training and progression supports for participants.
Since publication of the Deloitte & Touche review my Department has had a number of discussions in P2000 fora with the social partners on the recommendations in the review and this consultation process is continuing. In parallel to this process but separate from it the Government in the 1999 Estimates, which were published in early December 1998, reduced the number of community employment places by 2,500 but increased the number of active labour market programme places under my Department alone by a net 8,875. This follows a deliberate strategy of increasing active labour market programme places with the best employability outcomes in order to maximise the progression of unemployed persons into jobs in the open economy.
FÁS, as part of their responsibilities under the Labour Services Act, 1987, has operational responsibility for the delivery of the CE programme, including making decisions regarding the appropriate participation for individual unemployed persons subject to a maximum participation period of three years for each individual participant, and I have no role in regard to these matters.
