Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

The departmental officials indicated at this week's meeting of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment that it may be open to public bodies to avail of work placement schemes. Are there openings for local authorities to start up new community employment schemes for people on social welfare? If not, will that proposal be given serious consideration? The schemes we are discussing cater for a few thousands but there are hundreds of thousands of people in need of support.

The requirement that persons must be unemployed for an unbroken period of six months is causing problems for potential applicants to the schemes. For example, a person who is out of the country for some weeks within a six-month period or who secures employment for several weeks will not be eligible. That makes no sense. A person's application should not be hindered if his or her six-month period of unemployment is broken up for one reason or another. I understand this is a matter for the Department of Social and Family Affairs but it has a knock-on effect for the schemes administered by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Perhaps the Minister of State will convey that message to the Minister for Social and Family Affairs.

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