Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Tús is a community work placement initiative which will provide up to 5,000 short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. Some €30 million has been provided in the Department's Estimates in 2011 to fund the roll-out of the initiative. This initiative is being delivered through the network of local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta in Gaeltacht areas. The purpose of Tús is to focus on those people who are long-term unemployed. For this reason, eligibility is at present confined to those on the live register for 12 months and in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. These provisions are to ensure a targeted approach to those currently affected by long-term unemployment. People already in employment are not eligible for these positions.

Participants will, in the first instance, be identified by the Department of Social Protection. Once selected, participants will be referred to the appropriate local development company operating in their area where their skills set, background, experience and suitability will be assessed. Local development companies will then attempt to match each participant with work placements that have been identified and evaluated as being suitable, taking account of the job profile and the participant's profile. In all work placements, some element of task related induction or training will be required. This will be provided by the staff of the local development company and the community organisation. In the particular circumstances identified by the Deputy, additional work-related training may be required. The provision of such specialist training is primarily a matter for the service provider, who is best placed to identify and provide access to the necessary training opportunities.

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