Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I thank all Members for their contributions and for taking the time to debate this important issue of community employment. I wish to restate the Government's commitment to prioritising jobs. The Government is committed to spending more than €960 million on employment supports, including €350 million on community employment schemes, in 2012. This will result in an increase in overall expenditure on employment supports this year from the €882 million the Government spent in 2011. This expenditure in support of employment represents a significant increase on the 2011 figure, particularly at a time when public finances are more constrained than ever before.

At present, there are 1,143 community employment, CE, schemes in operation nationally with 23,300 places, of which there are approximately 22,000 participants and 1,300 full-time supervisor posts. There is no reduction in the number of community employment places for 2012 and no reduction in the number of CE supervisors. Following the changes to allowances for participants announced in the budget, it still is the position that taking a place on a CE scheme is financially beneficial for all participants. Even after the changes in one-parent family payments announced in the budget, a lone parent with two children who is an existing participant in a community employment scheme will receive a payment of €423 per week for 19.5 hours work. Due to the current economic circumstances and the need for the Department to find savings of-----

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