Seán Sherlock
Ceist:18. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to extend the duration of community employment schemes due to Covid-19. [18550/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 29 July 2020
Ceisteanna (18)
Freagraí ó Béal (7 píosaí cainte)
Can the Minister give me her perspective on community employment schemes? We know that 3,000 extra places were announced on State employment schemes in the July stimulus package. We are all receiving representations from individuals and from administrators of schemes who are seeking extensions to individuals’ tenure on those schemes, which are adding exceptional value. Can the Minister give me her perspective on how the schemes will operate going forward?
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The community employment scheme is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis.
In general, the period of participation on community employment is for one year. However, community employment participants who are working towards a major award or industry qualification can seek to extend participation by up to a further two years. During the current Covid-19 emergency, my Department continued to provide the necessary funding for community employment schemes while also introducing a number of contingency measures. These measures included the extension of all existing community employment participant contracts for the duration of the emergency.
Now that the country has begun the process of returning to normal operations and in keeping with the Government's Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, the contingency measures have concluded and the recruitment of new community employment participants has recommenced.
Those participants who had their contracts extended during the emergency period are now finishing up on their schemes on a phased basis over the coming period and further extensions will not be granted.
The priority for my Department is to ensure that all employment and activation programmes have the best outcomes for participants. Places on these work programmes will continue to be available to support those who are long-term unemployed and furthest removed from the labour market while sustaining the role of community employment as an active labour market programme. While I appreciate that there are some participants who would like to stay on the scheme, the Deputy will appreciate that any extension would have a knock-on effect on others who wish to join the scheme.
I appreciate the Minister’s point and understand that one must allow for other people to come on to individual schemes. Will the Minister allow for individual cases to be made, where there is a solid case and where there is not a demand at a local level for an additional person or a replacement to come on to the scheme? Will she allow for some discretion if that business case for retention of an individual beyond the extension period is based on mitigating circumstances? There are schemes around the country which would benefit from the retention of individuals.
I thank the Deputy. People wanting to stay on longer on community employment schemes has been the most frequent request I have received since becoming Minister. As the Deputy is aware I am new to this Department and will be looking at these issues. I want to get the balance right between getting people back to full-time employment while also recognising that for some people, it is going to be more difficult. I am aware of cases across the country and in my own constituency where there are particular circumstances. I will certainly look at this but it is about getting that balance right.
I appreciate the Minister’s response and understand that one has to allow for throughput in these schemes, which we all accept. Deputies and Senators will have all received representations from administrators of schemes. If the business case is made and it stacks up to scrutiny, if there is no demand for another person to come onto a scheme and if the work being carried out has an exceptional impact locally, I ask the Minister to allow for some discretion and common sense, to use her own expression, and allow pragmatism to be built into the process. I accept the Minister’s response on having some discretion. We have always operated in this country on the basis of making allowances for grey areas and human circumstances. Not being too prescriptive about matters would be very useful.
There is a call for common sense there for the Minister.
Yes, I am a great believer in common sense. The only problem is that sometimes it is not as common as one might like. The issue is about getting the balance right. Extending duration could impact on opportunities for other people getting onto the scheme. I understand that some really good work is being done by CE schemes throughout the country in many different areas, and we do not want to take away from this. Participants are doing a job they like and they want to continue doing that job and may not want to take that next step. The next step is to go on to another programme which will lead them into full employment. There are exceptions for people aged over 62 and 55 years of age, where some changes have been built in. I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from and I will certainly look at this. I will be meeting the community employment schemes representative body in due course on this matter.