Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I am a great believer in common sense. The only problem is that sometimes it is not as common as one might like. The issue is about getting the balance right. Extending duration could impact on opportunities for other people getting onto the scheme. I understand that some really good work is being done by CE schemes throughout the country in some many different areas, and we do not want to take away from this. Participants are doing a job they like and they want to continue doing that job and may not want to take that next step. The next step is to go on to another programme which will lead them into full employment. There are exceptions for people aged over 62 and 55 years of age, where some changes have been built in. I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from and I will certainly look at this. I will be meeting the community employment schemes representative body in due course on this matter.

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