Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I wish to set the scene on this important issue. Over 400,000 people are out of work and the figure is likely to be 500,000 before the year is out. Most of these people have never stood in a dole office in their lives and never want to. Economists, market analysts and commentators - everybody except the Government - now understand that getting people back to work is a crucial part of the national recovery plan. Every so often a Minister pays lip service to this principle but never seems to do something about it. Everybody knows that the Departments of Social and Family Affairs and Enterprise, Trade and Employment must draft an action plan to help people hold onto the jobs they have or take people off the dole. As the saying goes, better to light a candle than curse the darkness.

Let us look at a case in County Galway, where a young married man with two children lost his job as a manual worker two months ago. His local community employment scheme had an impressive list of works that needed to be done in the parish. Interviews were held but, lo and behold, the position could not be filled. It was not because the numbers were not there but because there were so many ineligible to get a job on a FÁS scheme. Why were they ineligible? One must be in receipt of jobseeker's benefit for 12 months or jobseeker's allowance. In this case, my constituent was on the former.

Why would the State want to subject a person to a year on the dole in the company of 400,000 more people when he did not want to be on the dole and there was no need for it? I ask the Minister of State to bring some sense to this. Where there are people who want to work and are capable of doing a job on community employment schemes, the least the Government should do is ensure that people are eligible to work. How is it that the Government will not allow anyone drawing the dole in these terrible recessionary times, who wants to work on a community employment scheme, to do so? Leaving politics aside, could there be anything more appropriate than taking people off the dole?

I received an answer to a parliamentary question I tabled to the Tánaiste, telling me all the things the Government proposes to do to get people back to work. Although numerically my proposal is small enough, it is significant for the people concerned, the sponsors of the scheme, the development associations all over the country, those who want to get work done and those who know what wonderful work has been done on community schemes and related schemes in town and country. The Government has people on the dole drawing down money we do not have while there are jobs in the parish in which they live. The Government sees fit not to allow these people to work. It is the daftest situation I have seen in my time in the House.

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I will respond on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan.

I thank Deputy Connaughton for raising this matter. Community employment 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. The purpose of community employment is to help unemployed people to re-enter the open labour market by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a work routine and to assist them to enhance both their technical and personal skills.

The current eligibility criteria set by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for entry onto the community employment programme allows for a combination of periods on different social welfare payments including jobseeker's benefit, provided they add up to at least 12 months without significant interruption and the person is currently in receipt of the payment at the time of application. Community employment is not designed to cater for short-term unemployed persons as they are not as far removed from the open labour market as the main client group for the programme.

In April 2000, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment introduced capped limits on the amount of time that a person could participate on community employment. Community employment capping was introduced to facilitate the movement of participants through the programme, allowing new participants who would not otherwise have such an opportunity to avail of the programme. In November 2004, to cater for older workers in particular, the standard three-year community employment cap was revised to allow those 55 years of age and over to avail of a six-year period on community employment based on participation since 3 April 2000. Subsequently, the participation limit for persons eligible for community employment based on a social welfare disability linked payment, including those under 55, was increased by one year. These measures were introduced in recognition of the fact that older participants and participants with a disability may find it more difficult to progress into the open labour market.

Funding for community employment in 2009 has been provided with a view to maintaining overall numbers on FÁS schemes. At present, over 22,000 people are participating in community employment schemes nationally. Some €6.6 million was provided to FÁS in 2009 for the provision of an additional 400 community employment places. 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. Any issues regarding the allocation of places are dealt with in this context. In so far as participants remain on community employment, they are precluding someone else from benefiting from the programme. 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.

Persons that are considered job-ready are progressed through FÁS employment services onto other options, thus freeing up community employment places for others in greater need.

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Back on the dole.

Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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This Government will continue to support the positive role of community employment in meeting the needs of long-term unemployed persons, while, at the same time, providing essential services to communities. The Minister keeps the operation of the scheme under review in the context of the current difficult unemployment situation.