Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As I stated, I am waiting for the local authorities to respond and establish pilot schemes. We expect that those schemes will influence the nature of the final schemes.

When I started Tús, there was nobody on it at all. There was no specification other than that it would be for people who were unemployed for more than one year. I do not know whether the Deputy has had an opportunity to meet people on a Tús programme in his constituency. There are now more than 5,500 people signed up to the programme. People with the best of skills who worked very hard during the building boom lost their jobs and found themselves unemployed for six months, then a year and then longer, thus becoming long-term unemployed. The programme has proven to be very popular.

With regard to the local authority social employment scheme, the critical point is to offer a high-quality experience that will provide for progression, as the Deputy stated. We hope to be in a position to achieve this when we get the details from the local authorities. I will keep the Deputy advised.

There can be a difference between rural and urban areas. In rural areas, in particular, there may be many unemployed people who were once in the building trade. A scheme such as the one proposed may well be of significant assistance to them. There will be some co-operation between existing schemes such as the community employment scheme. One should remember, however, that I have offered the community employment scheme 2,000 additional places under current terms and conditions. I am also providing for new projects where they may have been identified by community employment schemes, and I am ring-fencing a significant number of places for community employment schemes that deal with people with a history of drug problems. We are, therefore, trying to have a collection of schemes that meet the needs of various clients of the Department of Social Protection.

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