Seán Power
Ceist:58 Mr. Power asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the cost of the report (details supplied) on community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13082/99]
Written Answers. - Community Employment Schemes.
The cost of the Deloitte & Touche report on community employment schemes amounted to £16,169, which includes an amount for VAT of £2,717.
I am currently engaged in a thorough consultation with the social partners in regard to the recommendations of the Deloitte & Touche report on the future of the community employment programme. I hope to conclude this process shortly. However, I fully recognise the value of community employment generally throughout the country. I am particularly conscious of its value at local level, where it assists schools and community and voluntary bodies and I am not proposing to make any changes to the eligibility of these organisations for CE.
In parallel to the process of consultation currently ongoing the Government in the 1999 Estimates reduced the number of community employment places by 2,500 but introduced a number of new initiatives to provide training and other supports for the unemployed and long-term unemployed in particular. Details of these new initiatives, providing a total of 10,275 places at a cost of almost £23 million are set out in a tabular statement which I will circulate in the Official Report. The additional places include 1,000 additional specific skills training places for under 25s, 800 software-electronics training places, 4,800 job club places, 1,500 bridging training places for long-term unemployed, 800 flexible training place provision for lone parents and 400 job club places for lone parents.
New initiatives in 1999
|
Places |
Provision |
|
1,000 additional specific skills training places for under 25 stock of unemployed (majority likely to be LTU) |
£5m |
|
100+ IT mainstreaming training places for LTU |
£0.900 |
|
800 Software/electronics training places |
£3.2m |
|
4,800 Job Club provision |
£2.5m |
|
1,500 LTU Bridging training places |
£4.35m |
|
800 Flexible training place provision for Lone Parents |
£1.8m |
|
875 Job Initiative places |
£4.9m |
|
400 Job Club places for Lone Parents |
£0.20m |
|
Value |
£22.85m |