Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his report. The amount of money available for SICAP is good. I am pleased with what has been given. I was involved in a development partnership group some years ago and remember that SICAP helped people with financial difficulties. There was also a small farmers programme at the time and it was extremely successful. Sadly, the last time funding was given - I hope it will not be the case this time around and that there will be changes - it was directed towards helping groups such as the Roma. There were not many of them living in west Cork, but there were certainly small farmers in serious financial difficulty. They received good advice from an excellent worker, Mr. Joe Cronin, in Bantry who worked very quietly and delivered under the programme. He helped many farmers who were in financial difficulty, but they are now in ten times more difficulty. Can the programme be reinvented and rolled out? It was definitely welcomed and proved effective in west Cork at the time. I presume the position would be the same in any other rural community. There are other areas that need to be looked at. I refer to big housing estates such Clancool in Bandon. The programme has been very beneficial. However, we certainly need to look at helping small farmers. There is no other word for it - many of them are on the poverty line and I would be lying if I described it in any other way. They might not like to be described as being on the poverty line, but they are going through much difficulty.

We are not talking about the community services programme, CSP. However, I know groups that have community service workers and it is another scheme that has worked very well. Goleen Community Council delivers a community services programme and has provided four part-time jobs. I will not take anything away from the scheme, but the only worry I have is that if a programme has a manager - our group does not but other groups do - Pobal is now stating it will continue funding for the community services programme in an area but that the manager will be dropped. It might be argued that the manager is needed, but it has to be proved, which I accept. The bottom line, however, is that the local community group must make redundancy payments to the laid-off manager. If it cannot afford to do so, Pobal will apparently pay, but it will be a penalty against the group. In any work scheme - whether it is the rural work scheme, Tús or the community employment scheme - the voluntary community organisation should not be met with the penalty of having to meet the cost of a redundancy package. If many of the people involved in organisations which are benefiting from the community services programme had known that, they would not have offered the job in the first place. They could now be met with a fine hefty redundancy package bill. The person being asked to step aside deserves to be given it, but it should not be the responsibility of the voluntary community organisation to pay. Pobal should have factored it into the programme initially. I know because I have tested it. I have spoken to Pobal directly about a group that is going to lose its manager and that has been told, as I have, that it has a responsibility to meet the cost of the redundancy package. If it does not have the funding, Pobal will pay, but it will be a penalty that will be applied to the group. That is my reading of it. The group will have to pay sooner or later.

They are the points I wanted to make. I know that they are detailed, but they are of importance to voluntary groups. As ot was that sector that put me in Dáil Eireann, I must look after it.