Mr. Oliver Egan:

I will be as quick as I can and hopefully I will cover all the points. On disability, approximately 14.3% of the participants would be classified as having a disability, quite a significant cadre. This changes around a little, but generally stays at that level. We have complex restructuring to do on this because we are very aware of the multiplicity of outcomes from this programme and the various levels for whom it tries to provide. We are trying to be as nuanced as we can be. That is one of the reasons for the delay in the completion of the labour market activation review as we are trying to get the weightings of the various factors correct.

With regard to the numbers on the scheme, currently there are 22,726 people on it, including supervisors. I mention this because in the context of the point made by Deputy Ó Snodaigh, we are conscious of a change in the constitution of those numbers. The numbers represented by single parents would be down at 14.4%, whereas it was higher a few months ago at 20%. The numbers are still coming through in overall terms, but the mix is changing significantly. We are conscious of that and of the difference that makes in terms of the scheme.

With regard to the social economy, Mr. Fleming works with me on the community services programme, CSP, and we think some elements of CE should be looked at within CSP. We are conscious of the potential power within that with regard to the social economy. We are looking at this to see what we can do within the schemes to point them in the right direction and to help community enterprise generally. Mr. Fleming is part of the team as we work towards that. We can give further detail on this if required.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh mentioned savings. We stated in our report that we think we can save approximately €3.5 million in a full year. This will be achieved through obtaining better value on insurance, which we have been getting, looking at the audit requirements and seeking better value there, and looking at pooling expenditure in a more efficient way. We have achieved considerable savings this year already and believe the potential is there for more next year. Again, this must be nuanced and we are conscious of the need to make the rules easier to follow. We have relaxed the necessity around different bank accounts this year to try to help sponsors in that regard. We hope, in our ongoing discussions with sponsors and supervisors, to take on board further ideas on how to improve the situation.

Without getting into policy areas which have yet to be decided, next year we hope to get greater alignment between the various community schemes the team here represents, secure better outcomes for individual learners and, at the same time, maintain and, where possible, improve services to community groups. This is a hard ask within a pot of money which is less than it was a number of years ago and if we are do it we must ensure we work very closely with our colleagues in the Department of Education and Skills and elsewhere to get the best value we can on training, education and preventions. We must also analyse what we are doing critically and objectively to see whether we can do it better, while taking on board the views of those with home we deal.

I hope I have dealt with all the points raised. We are available afterwards if anybody wants to contact us and would welcome that. Department of Social Protection colleagues in the individual regions are also available. We would be pleased to hear from members afterwards, either by e-mail, phone call or direct contact and will take on board any concerns they may have.