Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Is the Minister aware the cut of 66%, on which she decided in respect of the CE training and materials grant, will decimate community employment schemes and projects as well as those communities which depend on such schemes? I note the Minister has acknowledged this dependence on many schemes. Does the Minister agree the cut actually was made earlier this month? Notwithstanding her announcement of a review before Christmas that led many of those concerned to believe they had been saved from a cut, does she agree this is not the case? Does the Minister accept she announced the review and misled the public and the CE schemes simply to get her own party's backbenchers off her case?

In the budget, she announced a cut to the community employment programme of €41.5 million and has determined to make a cut of approximately €27.5 million to the training and materials funding. In essence, she already has decided the outcome of the review and the reply she has just given appears to endorse this suggestion. Has she already decided the outcome of the review and its purpose? Does the Minister agree she is conducting a review after the fact and by so doing, she is demonstrating she did not bother to assess the cut's impact when deciding to make it in the first instance? Does she agree that had she sought it, most of the material to which she has referred already is in the possession of the Department and the review could have been carried out without implementing a cut of the scale announced?

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