Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Are there any plans to increase the numbers participating in community employment schemes? Separate to this, is the Minister aware the changes brought about last year excluded two categories from the schemes? In figures the Minister gave me last week in a reply to a parliamentary question, I note there are now 712 fewer people participating in schemes at this stage than there was last year. Of those, there is a substantial drop, 24%, in those in receipt of disability allowance and a 32% drop in those receiving the one-parent family allowance.

Are there any plans to reverse this? Are there any plans to deal with discrimination or the effects of the exclusion of those categories of people who were able to use the scheme to come out of the poverty trap and gain access to vital training?

The other question relates to the extensions. They do not apply to a community employment scheme for one year. This is of no use to many of the participants. They do not have full access to the training courses required because they may take longer than 12 months.

See this speech in context