Vol. 542 No. 6
121 Mr. Timmins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position regarding the future operation of community employment; the criteria for this extension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25664/01]
Experience has shown that a small number of individuals continue to have difficulties in getting jobs following their participation on community employment. This is usually due to barriers such as age, health, literacy, numeracy or a lack of suitable jobs locally. In recognition of this, I have removed the three year limit on participation for people over 50 years of age in certain cases. In future, people over 50 who, having spent three years on the programme, continue to experience difficulties in getting employment, may have their participation in the programme extended. For such participants FÁS will have discretion to offer a further period on the programme on a case by case basis.
FÁS has also been given the flexibility to offer a further period of participation of up to one year for those in the younger age groups who are also experiencing difficulty in obtaining employment. This flexibility will apply in those cases where it is clear that an extension would be of benefit to the participants in terms of improving their prospects of progressing to a job in the open labour market. The new arrangements will not apply in schools projects which are in the process of being mainstreamed. However, such participants may be facilitated in non-school projects.
The following guidelines on the operation of the changes in CE policy have been issued to FÁS by my Department: over 25s on part-time integration option – current FÁS discretion to give participants an extra year is increased from 10% to 20% to meet the needs of individuals who would clearly benefit from such extension in terms of their future employment prospects; 35s to 50 years on part-time job option – FÁS will have discretion to give 20% of participants in this age group extensions of up to one year to meet the needs of individuals who would clearly benefit from such extension in terms of their future employment prospects; over 50s on part-time job option – FÁS will have discretion to give 20% of participants in this group a further year on CE, with provision for review at the end of that year – further discretion will apply to extend participation beyond this on a case by case basis, subject to continued annual review; FÁS discretion to provide extensions on a case-by-case basis will be applied only to those participants, who on reaching the end of their period of normal entitlement, still experience difficulties in getting jobs, whether due to age, health, literacy, numeracy, or a lack of suitable jobs locally.
The new rules for the operation of CE will be applied strictly within existing budgetary constraints and the overall target for restructuring the programme, as required under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.
