Dáil debates
Tuesday, 12 October 2004
Adjournment Debate.
Job Initiative.
8:00 pm
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment of the House. While I have nothing against my constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, I hoped to see the new Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment replying to this matter tonight. It is a very important matter to do with the five RAPID areas of Limerick City that are the most deprived parts of the city, as the Minister of State will be well aware, and the threat to the job initiative positions in those five areas, namely, Moyross, Southill, St. Mary's, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Munchin's. Approximately 200 people stand to lose their jobs within the next five to six months as a result.
These communities are very deprived and unfortunately are frequently cited in the media because of various problems but they have a wonderful community spirit and the job initiative workers particularly, do invaluable work. It is community sabotage if these jobs are allowed to go.
The work includes maintenance of green areas in the estates and running crèches for children. In Moyross, the work includes monitoring cameras, which is of assistance to the Garda. Some of the workers have given evidence in murder trials. They provide meals for elderly people. There is support for the schools in the form of well-known sports people coaching the children and literacy classes and a wide variety of activities are organised in these communities.
I cannot understand how a Government that is now saying it will try to lift all boats, is caring and sharing and concerned about the marginalised, can allow this to happen. The Minister of State will be aware that the time frame for addressing this issue is very short. The communities have been informed they must cut the overall numbers on job initiative by either two or three in each community and people have already been put on notice in that regard. The other issue is that people who have been on the scheme for more than three years have been informed they must go within six months, probably five months from now. There are not people available who are eligible to take over these jobs in the schemes because applicants must be over 35 years and five years unemployed.
We propose that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment give a year's grace in order that a sound framework can be established to set up what I describe as a community jobs scheme similar to the rural jobs scheme already in existence under the auspices of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. These community jobs are worth doing for their own sake and should not be reliant on what FÃS describes as labour market interventions. It is essential that these jobs be taken away from FÃS because its remit is not to provide support for communities but rather to provide labour market interventions that lead people on to full employment. The communities need this work; the people are doing an excellent job. These communities should not be abandoned and the work is of significant importance to them. The people involved are making great efforts to improve the lives and the environment of the community around them. I want them to be given a year's grace to allow for setting up a permanent scheme to provide for community jobs to do the work currently being undertaken by people on the job initiative scheme so that it can be continued on a sustained and long-term basis. Time is of the essence and we need a decision from Government. We require cross-departmental and sensible thinking, otherwise these communities will suffer hugely.
Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for her contribution. When reviewing the opportunities and resources offered to communities it is important to emphasise that a wide range of active labour market, training and education programmes operate across a number of Departments, aimed at improving the prospects of unemployed and inactive persons progressing to jobs in the open labour market. In addition to employment programmes there are employment subsidies such as the back to work allowance and back to work enterprise allowance, and the educational opportunities provided by the back to education allowance and the vocational training opportunities scheme. The programmes operated by FÃS under the aegis of this Department are job initiative, community employment and the social economy programme, which between them currently account for approximately 25,000 places.
Job initiative is an active labour market programme aimed at those over 35 years of age who have been unemployed for the previous five years, with the primary objective of progressing these participants into the open labour market. It is specifically targeted at equipping the long-term unemployed, through identified worthwhile work and training, with the skill that will allow them to enter the labour force. Work experience is provided on a full-time basis for up to three years for participants, with flexibility for a one-year extension in specific cases where it can be shown to have a progression benefit. The allocation of places to individual projects and within regions is an administrative matter for FÃS that estimates there will be approximately 2000 participants on job initiative at year-end. There were 316 places available in the Limerick region at the beginning of the year and the projected figure for the end of the year is 284. However, when community employment places are taken into account there will be an additional 14 places provided in this region by year-end. Job initiative is a labour market programme and, as such, the concept of progression by participants is central to it. Participants must abide by the terms of their contracts and move from the programme after an agreed period of support and development. This is necessary so that vacancies will become available on a rolling basis and in order that other long-term unemployed and disadvantaged groups may have the opportunity to participate in the programme. Approximately 80% of participants on the job initiative programme in Limerick have been on the programme for four years or longer and a number have remained on the programme since it commenced in 1997.
It is important to recognise that full employment is the most effective route out of poverty, disadvantage and dependency on State welfare and must remain the primary objective for participants in active labour market programmes such as job initiative. A willingness to engage in progression, whether directly into the jobs market or if appropriate into further education or training opportunities, has always been an essential part of the scheme.
The proper functioning of this process would be of benefit to both the local communities within which the job initiative project is based and the country as a whole. Over the past 18 months FÃS has supported managing agents in their efforts to progress all persons who have been participating on job initiative projects for more than three years. This would apply to the participants in Limerick. These persons are being offered the high support process, customised training, main-line training and job seeking support. The high supports process is designed to provide a flexible response for persons experiencing barriers in progressing from unemployment to employment in the open labour market, and is based on the individual needs of clients with the support of a fund of up to a maximum of â¬2,200 per person. Where vacancies are created these are being filled on an ongoing basis by either job initiative or community employment participants. Over the past year, FÃS has endeavoured to support local communities in Limerick in the services they wish to deliver while keeping the focus of the schemes on securing jobs for participants in the open labour market.