At the end of October 2014, there were 22,815 community employment (CE) participants (excluding supervisors) engaged on the programme, an overall increase of 1,009 participants from October 2013. The breakdown of the 22,815 places is:
Community Employment Schemes
|
Breakdown
|
18,706 Jobseekers (JA/JB)
|
82.0%
|
1,215 Lone Parents/Widows
|
5.3%
|
1,886 Disability
|
8.3%
|
1,008 Others (e.g. ex-prisoners)
|
8.3%
|
The Department is doing its utmost to enable the CE sponsors to recruit sufficient candidates for any vacancies arising.
The existing participation limits for CE are in place to ensure that all eligible persons have the opportunity to participate on the programme. The limits (introduced in April, 2000) are 3 years participation for those under 55 years of age and up to 6 years participation for those of 55 years of age to state pension age. Persons in receipt of disability-related social welfare payments on entering CE may avail of one additional year on top of these limits bringing the duration up to 4 years and 7 years respectively.