Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

It was my intention, had I remained in office, that it would not be a one-year scheme. The Department of Finance made a demand in that regard and as the Minister is aware, the Government of which I was a member was running out of time. Tús is very streamlined in its operation and this means that money is freed up for the purpose of providing people with employment.

Does the Minister agree that there are people who will never obtain employment in the open labour market? People have a right to work and to make a contribution. Does the Minister further agree that many services in this country would fall apart if CE schemes did not exist? For some people, progression is not a realistic option. Unlike Deputy Ó Snodaigh, I believe that after a certain time people who have been undergoing training and who are unlikely to emerge from the system want what they are doing to be classed as a job rather than as a training scheme. If I had remained in office, it had been my intention - as is the case with the RSS, in respect of which time limits do not apply - that people who complete their involvement in community employment and who are unlikely to emerge from the system should move to the Tús programme and continue working on it until they obtain alternative employment.

Does the Minister agree that it is heartbreaking for those who are unemployed to be thrown off FÁS schemes, having been on them for four or five years, and removed from the system? Would it not be ideal if everybody who is unemployed had the option to remain on a work scheme on a continuous basis and as long as he or she is available for work when he or she finishes his or her training scheme? Some of the great gurus in the system utter all sorts of nonsense with regard to people seeking work. There are 450,000 people on the live register and we know they would start work tomorrow if they were offered the opportunity.

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