Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

The Minister may pontificate about not touching community employment schemes but she is fooling no one. The significant reductions in CE payments will jeopardise the future viability of community employment workers, their schemes and the communities in which they operate. This has nothing to do with building or constructing a fairer or more just society. These cuts to CE schemes will impact on the employment prospects of thousands of people who want to move from welfare to work.

There can be no justification for the Government slashing funding for materials and training grants for schemes that provide a range of essential services to children, the elderly, the disabled and disadvantaged. What was announced in December will amount to a €1,500 cut per participant to just €500 for next year, leaving many schemes struggling to survive. As Elaine Harvey, co-ordinator of the local employment service for Galway City Partnership recently stated:

This is the money that provides the heat and the light, the telephone, all of the stuff that lets the CE scheme run and provide services for our communities. Schemes already have to raise their own money for rent of premises. These cuts are a step too far. They are a direct attack on communities and their supports.

CE schemes play an important role in driving communities forward yet they are in danger of being ground to a halt.

I also note that attempts by sponsors and supervisors to get Department officials to put into writing the names of participants that will be affected by these cuts, their dates of birth, the PPS numbers of the participants, their current rate of payment and the deduction to be made in their wages has been ignored. Can the Minister explain why the request for this information has met with a flat refusal by the former management of FÁS? Is this because the Minister is protecting herself from these cuts? These cuts will cut people's salaries at the end of this month.

In a cruel change of policy, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, has singled out lone parents and the disabled who are making every effort to return to the workforce using community employment work and training schemes. From January, new participants on community employment schemes will not be able to retain their lone parents or disability allowance, a loss of €210 per week. Until now, both of these groups could keep their existing allowance and be paid for 19.5 hours work carried out as part of their CE scheme.

In another crippling blow to families that are struggling, the amount single parents can earn without reducing their social welfare entitlements will be slashed from €146.50 to €130. The Minister also confirmed that this figure would be shrunk to €60 per week by 2016.

I know of one lone-parent with three children who is facing an €89 reduction in their weekly allowance.

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