Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this important issue. Community employment and Tús are part of my Department's range of programmes and schemes, catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. They are designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work readiness, thereby improving a person's opportunities of returning to the labour market or getting a job for the first time.

Employment programmes also support the delivery of vital services in local communities. The programmes deliver on two levels. First, they provide a person who is unemployed with the opportunity of work experience and a chance to develop new skills to prepare him or her for employment in the open labour market. Second, they play a very important role in augmenting service delivery to local communities in key areas such as child care, health and social care, drug rehabilitation and local amenities. All areas of the country have benefitted from these programmes. I have seen this first-hand over the past few months when I visited various schemes throughout the country and I know it from my experience in my constituency down through the years.

As the economic recovery takes hold and the overall level of unemployment continues to fall - it is almost one third of what it was a few years ago - the need to adapt employment programmes to the changing circumstances and the needs of jobseekers has become more apparent and urgent. With this in mind, my Department undertook an analysis of the CE programme. While the primary focus was on CE, the review also looked at other employment programmes such as Tús and Gateway. The report made a number of recommendations in regard to the operation of these schemes. As the Deputy may be aware, I recently brought a memorandum on the programmes to Government and I obtained approval to publish the review report and to progress its various recommendations. I intend to publish the report in the next few days.

As part of the implementation of new measures, my Department will be consulting with key stakeholders, such as supervisors and providers, in the coming weeks and implementation of the new measures will commence thereafter. The nature and format of the consultation process is being finalised by my Department officials. I assure the Deputy that the work being done through programmes like CE and Tús is highly valued and recognised by Government. It is work that has to be done and we need to ensure there are people available to do it. I believe the changes to be made over the coming months will strengthen the schemes, widen the range and pool of people who can take part and help to ensure they continue to support people who are long-term unemployed to gain valuable skills and experience while continuing to support the delivery of community services.

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