Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I met with a number of RSS and Tús supervisors and co-ordinators from seven counties on Monday. The first thing I was struck by is that they really do not feel listened to, particularly the Tús staff. I appreciate that this is not in the question this morning but I wanted to convey that message back to the Minister of State. They really feel like the poor relation and very last in everything that is done. They have a number of concerns around referrals. Tús is a one-year scheme and they would really like to see that go to two years. There is a major issue in respect of referrals. Tús has 390 places. In 2021, they were given 173 referrals and of those, 53 were employed by the rural development company at the end. They are sanctioned when they do not fill their places but they do not get the referrals. Each of the representatives from the seven counties raised that with me as a concern. There is an issue with referrals. I want to raise that as well.

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