Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 37: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps she will take to ensure that Tús serves as an effective activation measure and to ensure the most suitable people are selected for participation in Tús. [10537/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The then Minister for Finance announced the introduction of a community work placement initiative for up to 5,000 people in the Budget Statement to Dáil Éireann on 7 December 2010. The initiative, known as Tús, was launched on 21 December 2010 and work on developing the necessary implementation structures has been underway since then.

Tús will provide short-term, quality work opportunities for those unemployed for more than one year. The work placements will be offered by the not-for-profit, community and voluntary sectors. The initiative will contribute to the range of activation measures being developed by the Government. It is different to other initiatives such as community employment, in that it does not have compulsory training or progression elements. Its focus is on providing those unemployed for more than one year with a work placement opportunity.

The initiative will be delivered locally by each local development company and by Údarás na Gaeltachta in Gaeltacht areas. Some €30 million has been provided in my Department's Estimates in 2011 to fund the rollout of the initiative. Following the launch, my Department conducted two successful trials to develop the delivery mechanisms for Tús. One trial was based in the Coolock area of Dublin and run by the Northside Partnership with the other based in Mullingar, County Westmeath. A total of 119 people were randomly selected from the live register and offered the opportunity to participate. The results of both trials have been evaluated and have informed the development of the initiative. Internal procedures for the selection of people to participate have been finalised and are being issued to local office managers and staff to enable the selection of participants to commence in the coming weeks.

Promotion of Tús to potential work placement providers has been underway for some weeks as part of a process of identifying suitable work placements. Local development companies are currently recruiting supervisory staff which will provide for a phased rollout during the coming months with the full 5,000 placements to be made available by the end of quarter one, 2012. The target is to have 1,000 of these placements filled by the end of June.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is aware that the scheme is not voluntary and, in its current guise, people will be forced to participate for fear of losing their jobs. A wide range of community employers are set to participate. However, is it really acceptable to force people to work in this way especially when there are scores of people who would be very keen to apply or avail of the opportunity? For example, some of these employers work with children and vulnerable adults. Have we learnt nothing from the major child protection investigations or the media exposure of elder abuse?

Would the Minister not agree that jobseekers should be entitled to apply for a place in Tús or, at a minimum, that a profile should be created? The Minister referred to the selection procedure. However, a profile could be created for each person on the dole which could then inform the selection of appropriate candidates. Will the Minister make these changes? If not, how will the Department ensure the appropriate people are selected if it has no profile of people on the live register? When will the guidelines governing the selection to which the Minister referred be produced and circulated to the partnership groups? Are they available to Deputies to determine whether they stand up to the required scrutiny?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I refer to the selection of people for this initiative. The only detailed information I have is the response to the two pilot studies that were undertaken. The Deputy might be interested to know that of 119 people, 100 of them, or 84%, replied to the invitation to participate. Only one person left the live register and 71% of those contacted expressed an interest in participating. This confirms what we all know: the vast majority of people on the live register are anxious to participate in work or education. This is designed to assist those who have been more than a year on the live register to do that. Of those people, 58 were deemed suitable for placement immediately, 13 people did not show up for interview when called and 28 were deemed, as we would expect, to be more in need of educational assistance.

This is an opportunity. It does not impact on the existing CE places, or on other schemes managed by the Department. It is an additional initiative of 5,000 places. I have met many of the companies and there is a serious level of interest. This is an opportunity for a one year placement with the same sort of top-up that applies in CE. Interviews are being carried out for supervisors and the interest shown so far is very positive.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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What is the top-up? I thought it was €20 per week, which would not even cover travel. Is there any intention to introduce a travel allowance for participants?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The scheme, as I inherited it, and provided for in the budget for this year, has an expenditure of €30 million. That makes provision for both the employment supervisors and for a top-up of €20 per week. I wish our financial circumstances allowed for a greater level but within the constraints of the budget that is all that has been made available. I am, however, encouraged by the level of interest and positivity that has been shown by individuals and by organisations.