Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue that affects many people throughout the country. It relates to the community employment, CE, schemes in place that offer so much in terms of service throughout society. They are embedded in everything we do.

In July 2017 the community employment policy unit changed the rules relating to the length of time a participant who is over 55 years of age can remain on the scheme without taking a break. Up to that point, a person over 55 years could work their full lifetime entitlement of six years without taking a break. However, from July 2017, a participant over 55 years of age was obliged to take a break once he or she worked for three consecutive years. The Department included a saver clause that allowed those over 55 years who had started on CE schemes prior to 3 July 2017 to remain on a scheme under the rules that existed before that date if it was more beneficial to them.

In August 2020, CE projects were alerted to a change or different interpretation of the rules relating to the length of time those over 55 years could remain on a scheme without having to take the 12-month break. This included those who started prior to 3 July 2017. The Department is now insisting that all CE participants over 55 years of age have to take a 12-month break. This seems to be at odds with the saver clause. More importantly, it is now taking numbers away from the CE schemes. I know of one scheme where the full complement would be 33. By June, the scheme will be down to 11 participants. There is a difficulty in trying to recruit new participants because they are being seconded into JobPath, an approach that is costing more money without delivering much in results. There are approximately 2,000 vacancies in CE schemes throughout the country. It has been well documented that there is a problem with referrals to CE schemes in recent years. If this cohort is allowed to exit the CE schemes, they would be depleted and it would destroy the level of service being provided throughout the country and in communities. We are not only talking about community projects. The disability sector will be affected, including the likes of Ability West, the Irish Wheelchair Association and mental health associations. They all benefit from the CE schemes.

People may believe that when we put a participant on a CE scheme, we are doing that person a favour. In fact, participants going on the schemes are doing the country a favour. Local authorities use them to carry out the work they should normally be carrying out themselves and they now rely on these people. I appeal to the Tánaiste to look into this as a matter of urgency.

See this speech in context