Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, who is abroad on Government business.

As announced in the budget, from 16 January 2012, new participants in community employment schemes will not be able to simultaneously claim their original social welfare payment and a community employment allowance, as per section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 2011. This measure affects those in receipt of the following payments commencing community employment schemes after that date: one parent family payment; deserted wife's benefit; widow's-widower's pension; illness benefit; disability allowance; invalidity pension; and blind pension. These new participants will instead receive payments directly via the community employment scheme at a rate equivalent to their original social welfare payment, including any increase for a qualified adult and-or child dependants, plus an additional €20 participation bonus.

New participants are defined as those persons who, with effect from 16 January 2012, have not been employed in a community employment scheme in the 12 months prior to commencing the current placement. Those lone parents who are already participating in community employment schemes had no change in their one parent family payment rates. However, they lost the entitlement to increases for qualified children on their community employment allowances and receive the community employment single adult rate only.

The number of persons in community employment categorised as jobseeker's allowance eligibility has increased by 20% since the end of December 2011 to date and there has been a corresponding decrease in other eligibility categories, notably lone parents. The jobseeker's allowance category has been increasing steadily since mid-2009 owing to the changed demographics in the job-seeking population. All participants who exit a community employment scheme and do not progress into employment or further training or education can return to their social welfare payment provided they still qualify for receipt of that payment.

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