Michael Conaghan (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Since the committees were reconfigured I am a member of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and am no longer a member of this committee. I wished to be present for this vitally important debate and contribute some ideas.

The community employment scheme has been one of the most significant interventions in social policy in the past 30 to 40 years. It has been able to balance individual advancement with the provision of community services, which is extraordinary. That intervention has been severely weakened in recent times. We go down that road at our peril. We lose out on both aspects. We lose in terms of the delivery of community services and the advancement of the individual. We must pull back from that. We must recognise the value and the values of community employment in its fullness. In that regard, I think the Department has listened too intently to the ESRI, a body which is no fan of community employment schemes. In letters to the Minister I have been urging her to look at the work of two young academics from UCD, who have come to different conclusions about how the balances can be adhered to without damaging either community services or individual advancement. The ESRI is quite hostile to community employment in its twin objectives. That advice, so-called, should be cast aside. I cannot understand that the thorough work done by the two UCD academics has not been taken on board completely. We must take stock of developments before we go too far and do irretrievable damage to communities that have no other way of keeping community halls open, services in schools - - - - -