Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not have the figure to hand and Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív will appreciate that it is not available in my Department. I will not engage in a guessing game on an issue on which I am not sure-footed, but I take the point the Deputy is trying to make. As Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice acknowledged, I also operate in a rural constituency and I am very familiar with the frustration felt by people at these schemes. There are many people who would like them to be extended in order that they could spend more than one year participating in them. There are also a lot of people in the over-55 year age cohort. I agree with the Deputies that I would like to see an extension in that regard. The Department is reviewing the schemes which were designed for another time, as acknowledged by successive Governments. Thankfully, we are in a different era economically and in terms of job creation, but I take the point that there are many who will not enter the workplace. That is a fact of life which is acknowledged and accepted. I will take the Deputies' suggestions to the Minister and her officials to ensure the points will be adequately reflected on in the Department.

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