Mr. Larry O'Neill:

Reference has been made to the different schemes we are using. There needs to be more flexibility in how this is measured in local employment services. If the measurement that applies to a single mother returning to the workplace is 30 hours or more, that is just not a feasible measurement at all. It is a huge achievement to get somebody in a disadvantaged area who has responsibility for children into a part-time job. It is not measured or accredited in any way. We are not looking for money for it. We are looking for recognition that a distance has been travelled in a very big way. The same can be said of placements on Tús and community employment schemes. We are dealing with people who could be said to have needed a pre-Tús scheme. We are literally training people to attend at 9 o'clock every morning. That in itself is part of the distance travelled model. We need to be much more flexible than strict. My personal view is that funding is not coming back into this area. Funding is leaking out of the area at a rate of knots. We are moving towards everything being based on the market and tendered for. I know from my experience in the OECD that this is not what is happening throughout Europe. Departments here are saying that we have to line up with the Europeans in this regard, but this is not what is happening in Europe. Our local employment service is one of the most complimented services in the OECD. Why would we change something that works very well?