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

Nobody is taken off CE or Tús to participate in JobPath. We do not allow people who have been referred to JobPath to chop and change from one scheme or programme to another. We have never allowed that and we do not propose to do so. A participant in a programme or scheme should complete it. For all sorts of reasons we do not want people changing mid-stream from one scheme or programme to another. A person who is referred to JobPath, who has a start date for commencement on Tús or CE within four weeks, is not required to take up the place on JobPath. If the timeframe in regard to participation in the Tús or CE is more than four weeks he or she is required to take up the JobPath position. What has happened is pretty straightforward. We had approximately 25,000 places on CE schemes. This was increased to 30,000 plus places. Tús was then introduced, followed by Gateway, JobBridge and JobPath. Unemployment has since decreased by two thirds. It is not surprising that there is a mismatch between the number of schemes and programmes available and the number of people available to participate in them. The numbers are slowly being pared back following the withdrawal of JobBridge and the phasing out of Gateway. Because CE and Tús provide vital work on the ground that needs to be done and because of their important social inclusion role, we do not want them to be unable to fill their places, as is currently the case. There are a number of things that I propose to do. I intend to widen the pool of people who are available by reducing the age limit to bring in more younger workers. I will have to think long and hard about what to do for older workers. I also propose to allow people to remain on a scheme for more than a year if they are doing a qualification. We need to do better. When people have completed a year on JobPath they should be referred almost immediately to CE or Tús. A person who has spent a year working with JobPath and has not found a job - most people do not find a job having spent a year on JobPath - is a perfect candidate for Tús and CE, in my view. I do not know why the lists are not being referred on. I acknowledge there is a problem in that regard.

I also intend to review the top-up paid to people who participate in CE or Tús. If one includes lone parents, people with disabilities and so on, there are more than 100,000 people who are eligible for Tús and CE. The top-up is only €22.50 and that is not enough. When account is taken of the cost of lunch, transport and so on a person might be worse off for participating in one of these schemes. I propose to look at that issue in the context of the budget. In the next few days, I propose to announce a relaxing of the rules in terms of who can participate. I am not closed to going further if that does not work.

See this speech in context