Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

Community employment is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary basis. Community employment helps unemployed people to re-enter the open labour market by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine and by assisting them to develop their technical and personal skills.

Community employment as an active labour market programme has the emphasis on progression into employment. The programme is managed to this end with primary regard to the needs of participants and the community. In addition, this programme with its focus on the needs of disadvantaged persons, forms a major response by FÁS to tackling the social exclusion of such groups as persons with a disability, lone parents, long-term unemployed and drug mis-users with a view to their re-integration into the labour market.

In July 2006 my Department published its sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005. One of the key highlights of this plan is to increase participation rates of people with disabilities on community employment over the period of the plan and to raise the community employment participation limits for people with disabilities. In order to provide additional training to assist progression to employment for people with disabilities under 55 years of age, the participation limit has been raised by one year from three to four years, and for people with disabilities over 55 years of age, the participation limit has also been raised by one year from six to seven years.

FÁS is continuing to develop the content of the community employment programme. The new approach involves the introduction of an "individual learner planning process" which is focusing on meeting the learning needs of participants. The individual learner plan is providing for the planning, organising and recording of the work experience, training and development that each participant receives while working on community employment. It also includes further training and development for supervisors, a new application process and quality assurance procedures.

Support for this individualised approach is the hallmark of the Education and Qualifications Act 1999, with its focus on individual access, transfer and progression towards accredited and quality assured learning. Under the Act, FÁS has proposed new FETAC awards relevant to community employment and JI learners. The two awards are a certificate in personal and social employment skills and a certificate in vocational employment skills. These new awards will facilitate all the planned learning completed on community employment or JI by each participant being rolled up into the achievement of a FETAC award. This will provide added value to the learner and will support their progression onto further training or employment.

Funding for community employment in 2007 has been provided with a view to maintaining overall numbers on FÁS schemes at 2006 levels. There are more than 22,000 people employed on community employment schemes nationally, a figure which has been maintained throughout 2006. It is anticipated that FÁS will utilise its full allocation in this area during 2007.

Operationally, in delivering these places, FÁS operates flexibly in the management of this allocation in order to maximise progression to the labour market while at the same time facilitating the support of community services. This provision of places is managed through a standardised application process between regional FÁS offices and local sponsor-community organisations and any issues regarding the allocation of places are dealt with in this context. FÁS makes every effort to ensure differing levels of demand between neighbouring schemes are equalised.

I am informed by FÁS that the position in relation to St. Muirin's House crèche, Avonbeg, Tallaght, Dublin is that FÁS and the local management committee have agreed to keep the crèche running until a new creche facility is provided in the area early next year.

An acting supervisor will be appointed and local people, in conjunction with FÁS and South Dublin County Council, will initiate a temporary refurbishment of the current crèche and concentrated efforts will be made to improve the surrounding area.

After many years I am glad to be able to give good news on an Adjournment debate.

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