Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. It concerns the three-year rule for community employment schemes but only in those schemes relevant to disadvantaged people. For example, in Galway city there is an independent living group which had 18 employees of community employment schemes. This week four of those people reached the three-year limit and had to terminate their employment on the scheme, with the result that four people with physical disabilities no longer have personal assistants. The Minister of State will say that the independent living group can employ four more people, but that is not so easy. First, one must advertise for them and, second, it is very difficult to find people willing to take up the position of personal assistant. A personal assistant who works with a disadvantaged person, or one who uses a wheelchair, for 19.5 hours per week over three years develops a relationship with that person and knows what to do and how to do it.

The Galway case is only one example. Every year over the next three years the independent living group will lose 18 personal assistants. As a result the people employed on the community employment scheme will return to unemployment assistance and receive €25 per week less than they received on the community employment scheme. For the sake of €25 the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment is ceasing the employment of those people on a community employment scheme. Through the Minister of State, I ask the Tánaiste to exempt people working as personal assistants on community employment schemes. The work they do is very valuable to themselves and to those whom they assist, enabling them to lead independent lives in their own homes or in a community home.

In the Galway example the four who have lost their assistants must return to institutional care or to their families and the four assistants will be unemployed. The independent living group has advertised for people to take up those positions but cannot get them immediately, if at all, because they must pass security checks and be trained.

This rule strikes at the people least able to defend themselves. I cannot understand why the Tánaiste proceeded with the three-year rule, which came into effect in 2003, for people in this position. They do the most valuable work that any employees of a community employment scheme could do in looking after people and enabling them to lead independent lives, in institutional care or in their own homes, as happens in some cases. I appeal to the Minister of State to present the case to the Tánaiste.

It is not fair to send in the Minister of State because he has a prepared script that may not respond to the points I raise. This is one of the frustrations of raising matters on the Adjournment. The Minister of State brings in a prepared script which he or she must put on the record. I want the Minister of State to ask the Tánaiste to exempt people employed in community employment schemes who work as personal assistants to those with disabilities because it is impossible to replace the expertise and comradeship they have established with the person whom they are assisting. Those people are now being penalised. A wheelchair user who had a personal assistant was able to do his or her shopping and go to the cinema or elsewhere. However, he or she will no longer be able to do that because the three year rule dictates that the personal assistant must be sacked. Four personal assistants had their employment terminated in Galway this week.

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy McCormack for raising this matter on the Adjournment. Community employment provides unemployed people with temporary opportunities whereby they can develop their skills and obtain a recent track record of work experience. In accordance with the Government's decision in 1999 to restructure the programme, participation levels have gradually been reduced in line with reduced levels of unemployment and there has been a strategic shift in policy in favour of training and other more appropriate supports.

As part of the restructuring of the programme in 1999, eligibility for participation in community employment by an individual was capped at three years, effective from April 2000. That change was introduced to discourage repeated participation in CE schemes and to encourage unemployed persons to avail of training and education options where possible, which are shown to have more successful progression outcomes for individuals. The three-year cap was amended in August 2001 to allow particularly disadvantaged persons to remain on the programme for a further period. Participants are considered for an extension if, on reaching the end of their normal entitlements on CE, they are likely to experience difficulty in getting employment due to their age, literacy or numeracy problems or a lack of suitable jobs available locally. FÁS currently has discretion to offer up to 20% of the total number of CE participants a further period on the programme on a case by case basis.

As provided for in the PPF, consideration has been given to the mainstreaming of certain essential services provided through CE. In that regard, approximately 4,500 CE places in schools have been mainstreamed over the past number of years. This involved the appropriate degree of funding being transferred to the Department of Education and Science for the provision of relevant services in schools. In addition, approximately 2,300 places have peen provided on the social economy programme.

Detailed discussions took place during 2002 involving the Department of Health and Children, the health boards, FÁS and sponsor groups with regard to the possible mainstreaming of health sector places which would include personal assistant services. However, due to the amount of additional funding required by the Department of Health and Children to mainstream these positions, and having regard to other major demands in the health budget, it was not possible to proceed with mainstreaming in this area.

CE health sector places have been ring-fenced from any reductions that have taken place since March 2002. FÁS, which has responsibility for the day to day administration of the programme, makes every effort to ensure that places are maintained at the agreed level on ring-fenced schemes. However, it is important to remember that the primary purpose of CE is to provide short-term work experience and training opportunities for long-term unemployed persons and other disadvantaged groups with a view to facilitating their progression to work in the open labour market. It is imperative, especially with the reduced level of places available, that CE positions be vacated on a rolling basis to facilitate new participants and ensure that they are not blocked by participants who do not move on when their agreed participation period ends.

The total funding allocation for employment schemes in 2004 has been fixed at €351 million, which will support up to 25,000 places across the three employment schemes — community employment, job initiative and social economy. FÁS is being given some flexibility in the management of this financial allocation to maximise progression to the labour market while, at the same time, facilitating the support of community services. This allocation of €351 million is similar to the budgeted amount provided in 2003. The commitment to fund a continuing pool of up to 25,000 places across the three schemes brings clarity not only to the levels of activity which can be supported, but will enable FÁS to give a clear commitment to support local community services over an agreed period of time.

The future structure of the CE programme is under review by a group of senior officials and FÁS and this group will report to Ministers on the outcome of its deliberations shortly. In addition, FÁS has recently undertaken an internal review of the community employment and job initiative programmes, which will be published in due course. The senior officials intend to complete their deliberations shortly and the outcome will inform any future adjustments in the structure and the terms and conditions of these labour market measures. I assure the Deputy that I will bring this matter to the attention of his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Fahey.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State should not forget to tell Seán Ó Neachtain as well.