Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)

-----and those impoverished as a result of years of cutbacks and a lack of investment. I urge the Government to reverse the cutbacks to the CE schemes and instead invest more money in them to make them more viable. They also house many community and voluntary services that could be forced to cease operating in the event of their closure. There are 22,000 people currently availing of community employment schemes, which provide training and upskilling. CE participants also assist in the provision of key services for the unemployed and families. CE schemes are important for rural Ireland and are availed of by many organisations. The reduction in grant aid for such schemes will cause major problems. While the amount involved is not large, funding towards the cost of training and materials form an important element of these schemes. The future viability of hundreds of these schemes, owing to the 66% cut in funding announced as part of this budget in respect of materials and training, which provide vital services to children, the elderly, disabled and disadvantaged has been slashed from €1,500 to €500.

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