Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

The Minister referred to the reviews, which discovered that there was limited progression. If the level of progression is so low, does she not accept that it is illogical to reduce the training and materials grants? The training grant is particularly important because it is the only hope in the context of ensuring that people are trained. Does she agree that there can be very little progression if there are no jobs? Would the Minister not delay the budget cut pending the outcome of the reviews? As she stated, many similar reviews are sitting on shelves. If some of the recommendations they contain had been implemented or if some of the data already available within the Department had been used, those who operate the CE schemes would not be obliged to go cap in hand to the Department in order to obtain money to allow them to try to survive for the next couple of months. That they are being obliged to approach the Department is going to create another bureaucratic nightmare for it.

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