Ms Bríd O'Brien:

We are hopeful and we will certainly keep an eye on it and try to encourage follow-up. The Department is aware that, on the previous occasion, there was not follow-up, so it is determined there will be this time, but it is still early days. It was launched only in May. If this committee is speaking to employers, it would be great if it encouraged them to sign up, but the next step is the crucial bit, perhaps even going beyond that. The six steps in the charter are not especially ambitious but at least they are a start. If we could get a start and move beyond that, that would be helpful.

The general branch of our organisation, which deals with the mechanism through which unemployed people participate in the organisation, is running a call for people who are not on a payment to be able to access community employment and sign on for credits. That was introduced this year and members feel it would be great to see that also happen on Tús. We have had inquiries from affiliates that work with people from Ukraine who are wondering now, with the change in their status, whether they will be still able to access programmes such as community employment in Tús. At our most recent annual delegate conference, a member of the community was there and felt that some of those programmes would be great for opening the door for people and helping them to be able to work in their local communities and build relationships. Again, looking at some of the eligibility criteria for some programmes would be helpful, as would ensuring the top-up payment will be improved, which is another issue that has arisen. Even if someone lives in an urban area where there is public transport, the cost of getting from where you live to where the opportunity is can be a challenge for people.

It is also about doing work because, at times over the years, some of those programmes have not had a great reputation in the wider labour market, even though people often do very good work on them. It would be nice to see that issue addressed such that the skills people develop and the work people do would be acknowledged and act as a stepping stone into the wider labour market. That again would be a useful step up.

Community organisations are critical and are often the only access point to the labour market for many people from disadvantaged backgrounds, but it is about how we get people from that opportunity into the wider labour market. In some cases people may get work in those organisations and get a fully paid job, which is wonderful. Ensuring those organisations are also well resourced in order that they can develop their work is critical.

Community-based education is a critical provider for people. First-chance education may not have been a great experience and people may have left school early or with a leaving certificate that may not get them a place, so community-based education and adult education are also important supports for people. It is again about trying to make some of those connections. I am often struck that, when we talk about the labour market, we talk about the supply side and too infrequently talk about the demand side. There is a presumption that employers who are looking for employees know where they are, and I am not sure that is always correct. We read about employers saying the leaving certificate is too academic, yet some of the alternatives, such as the leaving certificate applied, do not carry the same weight in the labour market.

It is about highlighting some of the alternative routes to education and qualifications, and making sure there is a good understanding in the wider labour market among employers as to what they are and mean, because it may be that the skills the person has learned there are far more appropriate to the job the employer wants to fill. Resolving some of those communication aspects would be a make a big difference to people.