Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make two very brief points. I acknowledge the input of Mr. T. J. Fleming, a senior departmental official who has been extremely helpful to me on numerous occasions. I ask the Minister to pass on my thanks to him.

Community employment offered by local authorities was an issue of interest to me even before I came to the House. I have promoted the issue on local radio and also with this and the previous Administration. It was heartbreaking to receive a flood of calls to my office.

When they asked where they could find out about the scheme, I could only tell them that I was merely advocating for it. I have researched this initiative above and beyond what most people have done and I am convinced, unfortunately, that an average payment of €20 per week simply will not work. JobBridge is different in that it offers a line to a potential future job. Under the local authority scheme, however, it seems unlikely that many participants will be recruited after they complete the scheme. Furthermore, while JobBridge participants are gaining experience in a particular line of work which they can include in their CV, the work people will be doing in the local authorities is likely to be manual and, therefore, less likely to enhance their qualifications and subsequent attractiveness to employers. I am concerned that the provision of an additional €20 per week will not be a sufficient inducement of itself to attract people to the scheme. I will be more than happy to have a conversation about this with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, Will the Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, confirm that the details of the scheme are coming from the Minister for Finance in the context of the overall budgetary position?