Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

All current schemes are kept under review in respect of how well they work. Community employment, CE, is the largest employment programme administered by the Department and is a valuable resource for both jobseekers and communities. The Deputy knows the work done by CE schemes in the Ballyfermot area. Currently, there are almost 22,500 participants and nearly 1,400 supervisors employed on the programme at a cost of approximately €373 million in 2015. As the Deputy will be aware, CE aims to enhance the employability and mobility of disadvantaged and unemployed persons by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities. In addition, it helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a regular work routine.

Currently, to be eligible for CE, a person must be in receipt of one of a number of social welfare payments such as jobseeker's allowance or one parent family payment for 52 weeks. This is in keeping with commitments in Pathways to Work to target initiatives at those who are long-term unemployed.

However, it should be noted there is special provision for individuals who are stabilised drug users and ex-offenders. They are not required to be in receipt of a social welfare payment in order to be referred to CE by an appropriate agency.

The adult dependant of a social welfare claimant is not eligible for CE in his or her own right as eligibility rests with the main claimant only. Family income supplement, FIS, is not a qualifying payment for CE and CE participants are excluded from claiming FIS while employed on the programme.

Persons engaged in short-term, part-time employment may be eligible for CE if they have been employed no more than 30 days in the previous 12 months. If they exceed 30 worked days in that time, they fall outside the definition of long-term unemployed for the programme eligibility purposes, as they have proved themselves to be capable of finding and retaining employment.

However, it is worth noting that there is a range of options open to those who do not qualify for CE. In this context, the Department’s Intreo office staff will be happy to advise clients of the intervention that might best suit their individual needs. There is a significant drop, according to today's figures, in long-term unemployment and people who were in part-time work are going into full-time work, which is quite welcome.

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