Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We keep all of the schemes constantly under review. We will set out our aims and ambitions when we are launching the next Pathways to Work programme within the next week or two. I appreciate that the composition of the schemes has changed to take account of two groups that need to be focused on - younger people under the age of 25 and older people who lost their jobs at the height of the difficulties, as mentioned by Deputy Daly, and are finding it difficult to get other jobs. We have some proposals on how to give better opportunities to such people.

I wish to stress another aspect of the community employment scheme and the other schemes. Sometimes economists do not understand that such schemes provide significant levels of service to people in certain rural and urban communities, particularly in areas that might be less economically well off. I refer, for example, to the impact of various schemes, such as the rural social scheme, on areas like Ballyhoura. The use of such schemes by strong community management teams has had a positive effect. I notice that in my own constituency, for example. I must give credit to Limerick, as I have done previously, because it was really the pioneer of the Gateway schemes in the aftermath of the awful floods a couple of years ago. I compliment the foresight of the management in Limerick County Council on giving many young men, in particular, including many in the area around King's Island who had not been working, an opportunity to take part in community employment and similar schemes. That was where Gateway was launched. It has proven extremely popular ever since. Now that a number of local authorities are beginning to recruit - I understand this includes the council in Limerick - I am glad to note that some of those who are being taken on as general operatives have worked on the Gateway scheme.

Essentially, they have the 12 or 22 months of experience that they can cite as their best reference working with the council. I thank also the people at council level throughout the country who have been involved in the scheme. I was out with my own people in Fingal County Council recently and some of the people working on the Gateway scheme. Much of the work is on historic parks and gardens. A huge number of skills are being learned and developed. The scheme is positively received by the local community and people are happy to be involved in something that is benefitting their local community. While we are reviewing all the schemes, I am conscious of older people. We did not have the resources up to now because the focus was to get people who were unemployed some experience that would get them back into work, but we have revamped the whole child care and care element of community employment to include a training module. I would like to see more of that on more of the schemes. Tús has also been very popular. The transition of people on Tús, which is a one-year scheme, to work has been surprisingly positive, given that some of the people have been out of work for a while.