Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I am grateful for the opportunity of raising this matter. While I am delighted to see the Minister of State, I am somewhat sorry that the Minister, Deputy Martin, is not present to hear what I have to say. It concerns a matter, the community employment scheme, which forms now part and parcel of community life in every parish.

My constituency of Galway East is no different from any other. In January and February well over 100 community employment workers will be told to go home, in other words, they will be finished with CE and FÁS schemes. Some might say FÁS is just a training agency and the people concerned should be trained to do something else afterwards. However, there is a cohort who work for community groups which are sponsors. Most of the people concerned are in the age range of 57 to 62 years. Because of their lack of skills for the outside world, they will have no place to go and they are the first to admit this but they are outstanding workers at what they do. They build walls, look after grounds and take great pride in what they do. In 2008 most of them will be back on the dole, a place in which they do not want to be. The only thing staring them in the face is that for the next five or six years until they reach contributory old-age pension age they will be on the dole. They are needed not only in rural parishes but also by organisations in towns such as tidy towns committees, wheelchair associations and others involved in community work. What is even worse is that if they could be easily replaced, one could see another tranche coming to take their places but that is not the case.

About five years ago the Minister made a minor change which allowed CE participants to work an extra four or five years. Therefore, a precedent has been established. There is no reason this group could not be allowed to continue to work with dignity. Any doctor will say many are given a new lease of life by working on CE schemes because they meet their neighbours. For obvious reasons I cannot name any the people concerned but I wish to give an impression of the type of person involved.

The participants in one CE scheme who will be getting their walking papers in the middle of January include a man aged 59 years who is separated and living alone; a man aged 58 years who has a young child; another man also aged 58 years; a widow aged 57 years with no support in the world; two more aged 61 and 63 years, respectively; a person with a mental illness and a widower aged 61 years. They have no other place in the wide earthly world to get a job other than on a CE scheme. This situation is replicated all over the country. In the week or two before Christmas, if the Minister has any feelings at all — I do not care what the bosses in FÁS say about the training philosophy and all that jazz — he will need fix it only once because this tranche of people will not be there again and the matter will resolve itself in four or five years.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

The FÁS community employment programme is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed-term basis. Community employment helps unemployed people to re-enter the open labour market by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a work routine and assisting them to enhance their technical and personal skills.

I am informed that the rural social scheme is under the aegis of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. I understand its main purpose is to provide income support for low-income farmers and fishermen and to provide certain services of benefit to local communities. The operation of the scheme is, in the first instance, a matter for the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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There is a cap on that scheme also.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I understand what the Deputy is saying.

As regards the community employment programme, in 1999 the programme was restructured to limit participation by new participants to three years, with effect from April 2000. This change was introduced to encourage unemployed persons to progress to training or education and employment options, where possible. However, this three-year cap was amended in August 2001 to allow particularly disadvantaged persons to remain on the programme for a further period. In general, approximately 20% of participants, including persons under 55 years of age, have benefited from an additional year on the programme under the flexibility guidelines introduced in August 2001. In November 2004, to cater for older workers, the three-year CE cap was revised to allow those of 55 years of age and over to avail of a six-year period on CE, based on participation since 3 April 2000. This was introduced in recognition of the fact that older participants may find it more difficult to progress into the open labour market.

In July 2006 my Department published its sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005. One of the key highlights of the plan is to increase participation rates of people with disabilities in community employment over the period of the plan. In order to provide additional training to assist progression to employment for people with disabilities under 55 years of age, the participation limit has been raised by one year from three to four years and for people with disabilities over 55 years of age, the participation limit has also been raised by one year from six to seven years. The upper age limit for CE participants is 65 years.

FÁS is continuing to develop the content of the community employment programme. The new approach involves the introduction of an individual learner planning process which is focusing on meeting the learning needs of participants. The individual learner plan is providing for the planning, organising and recording of the work experience, training and development of each participant while working on the community employment programme. It also includes further training and development for supervisors, a new application process and quality assurance procedures. Under this individualised approach, FÁS has proposed four new FETAC awards relevant to both community employment and job initiative learners, including certificate in personal and social employment skills level 3; certificate in vocational employment skills level 3; certificate of applied employment skills level 4; and certificate in specific employment skills level 5. These new awards will facilitate all of the planned learning completed on community employment or job initiative schemes by each participant being rolled up into the achievement of a FETAC award. This will provide added value to the learner and will support their progression to further training or employment.

Funding for community employment in 2007 has been provided with a view to maintaining overall numbers on FÁS schemes. That is an important fact. Currently, more than 22,000 people are employed on community employment schemes nationally. In delivering these places, FÁS operates flexibly in the management of this allocation in order to maximise progression to the labour market while at the same time facilitating the support of community services. This provision of places is managed through a standardised application process between regional FÁS offices and local sponsor and community organisations and any issues regarding the allocation of places are dealt with in this context. However, it should be remembered that, in so far as participants remain on community employment, they are precluding someone else from benefiting from the programme.

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Not the people I am talking about.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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FÁS makes every effort to ensure that differing levels of demand between neighbouring schemes are equalised. FÁS also operates the programme flexibly as far as possible to ensure the continuation of community projects.

This Government will continue to support the positive role of community employment schemes in meeting the needs of long-term unemployed persons, while at the same time providing essential services to communities. In this regard, we are keeping the operation of the scheme under constant review.