Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

SICAP and the communities programme are valuable programmes. Regarding SICAP, I gave the committee the figures earlier, including the number of people involved. It is not really about volumes; it is more about targeting the people in need. In this particular round, we want to ensure we target the people most in need, the people who need to be targeted now. Before SICAP was announced, we did carry out a review, we did talk to people and some changes were made to the programme. It is a programme that is working very well and one I want to see continue. I hope we will see the success we had with the programme from 2015 to 2017. I threw out the figures to the committee earlier: 110,000 people on a one-to-one basis and 5,000 local communities supported. Jobs were gained from people setting up their own business and other people going into employment. However, the greatest thing to me is the 9,720 people who gained extra qualifications to give them an opportunity to get back into the workplace again, to retrain and to be assisted.

Senator Hopkins also spoke about the RAPID programme, and I hope to announce that funding at the end of the month. She is quite correct: last year, we did announce that funding. To be fair to the local authorities, which I must compliment, it was late enough in the year when we actually allocated that funding.

Rather than looking to see the areas of greatest need, we just did it. On the next occasion, there will be a dedicated amount for each county and we will be identifying the areas of greatest need with a view to ensuring those areas are targeted. Both schemes are working very well. We want to ensure that the people we need to target and who need to be on these schemes will be on them. It is not about the numbers game; it is about the quality of service that given to those who need it. We must ensure that people who need the service most are targeted and that they are given the opportunities which will give them a chance in life that, for whatever reason, they may not have had in the past. The service will deal with people in all sections of society and it is important that the programme is continued. I am pleased that we have announced that the SICAP programme will run on until 2022.

As I said when I was in Limerick, if this programme means that one person or family has been supported and helped to get a job, then it is worth it.