James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will suggest a number of changes to the Minister which she may be able to make. The first is a realignment. She mentioned the difficulty of job activation versus social inclusion. The Minister, Deputy Ring, took his first question time in seven months yesterday. Perhaps his Department of Rural and Community Development could assist in this. Historically, there was a cross-departmental approach to these schemes. Maybe sometimes things moved from one Department to another. Perhaps we could recategorise at least part of the scheme to help with that. An assessment should be done upfront when somebody is referred to JobPath rather than a person spending 12 months going through a programme which may not be suitable for them. It may be eminently suitable for many individuals but there are some who may not be a good match. That should be identified in the first week or two and they should be sent back to CE or Tús if that is more appropriate. I understand that Turas Nua and Seetec would be happy to facilitate that. If a person is working in his or her local GAA hall as part of the CE scheme and is only required by JobPath to be available for one 30-minute session a week, for example, for interview preparation, there is no need for that person to sit at home for four and a half days of that week when he or she could be back working in the GAA hall. Allowing people to remain on the CE scheme while in JobPath, if it does not hinder their efforts in the JobPath scheme, would be very welcome. The rules on eligibility and continuation, especially for older people, who present greater complexities when re-entering the job market should be considered. The rules around the barrier to re-entry if somebody comes off a JobPath should also be looked at. People should not be prohibited from going straight back to a CE scheme if that option is open to them. They are some immediate changes that could be made and would be welcome. If there is an issue with categorisation I am sure it could be solved. If they need to be called social inclusion schemes, let us call them that. If we need to go to the Department of Rural and Community Development, let us do it.

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