Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the issue of community employment, CE, schemes. In my county, Tipperary, I have had a range of people contact me on this issue. Last week, David Mulvaney in Ballynacargy, County Westmeath, eloquently outlined the situation there to me whereby if these schemes are not extended, many people whom the ESB is pushing towards getting major awards under the CE programme will simply not have enough time to complete their training. Given that this issue affects thousands of people, will the Taoiseach consider extending the programme in order that people can finish their training, get their awards and complete their year? They have not been able to do so because of Covid. As part of this, will the Taoiseach consider the provision of more resources temporarily while the schemes get restarted in the new environment under Covid? Finally, will he look at the whole package to ensure we can have consistency in the CE schemes and the work they do in communities across Ireland, which we all acknowledge is very valuable?

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