Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with that. However, the OECD produced a report on activation in the Irish labour market that came out very strongly against the kind of programme the Deputy is advocating and instead advocated in favour of the kind of programmes Ministers have introduced such as MOMENTUM and Gateway which have a very clear focus on activation and getting people back into the labour market. That is the direction policy is seeking to develop so that people are moved permanently into real jobs for the long term. That is the focus of the effort. As I said, 40,000 people are involved in community employment programmes that are not dissimilar to what the Deputy is advocating.

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