Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I am very concerned about recent reports of cuts to community schemes such as the community employment scheme, Tús and the rural social scheme. The deadline for the rural social scheme in County Cavan is today and my office has been inundated with requests for application forms. They are being well utilised. One need only look around communities in the country to see the valuable work that would not be completed if these schemes ceased to exist.

The Government's argument is that unemployment figures are in decline but not everywhere in the country has seen the benefits of economic recovery and I refer to my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. In truth, these schemes fill the holes in State structures that have been left by Government cutbacks. I speaking of the cuts to staffing and resourcing that Cavan and Monaghan county councils have endured. One need only consider the poor conditions of the road network and the impact the lack of a local improvement scheme is having on rural communities although this discussion is for another day and with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.

As for the community employment schemes, Tús and the rural social schemes, my constituency office has received hundreds of calls since Christmas to report incidents of illegal dumping. In my native town of Bailieborough, people are willing to help through such community schemes and throughout the constituency, great work has been done to clean up the countryside. People living alone in rural villages in Cavan and Monaghan benefit hugely from the rural social scheme. In 2016 approximately 37,000 people were working in Tús, community employment schemes and the rural social scheme and were doing valuable work in our communities. How can rural Ireland sustain any cuts to these important schemes?

I call on the Minister for Social Protection to give assurances that the future of such community schemes will be protected and, if anything, enhanced. In particular, I seek the abolition of the time limit for certain schemes. Community schemes such as the community employment scheme, Tús and the rural social scheme are invaluable programmes in which local people provide important services in towns, villages and rural areas throughout the country. Community ventures such as the maintenance of football pitches, green areas and community halls are carried out by people on such schemes. In many cases, were it not for these programmes the work would not be done at all as many local authorities lack the resources or manpower to do them. This is where they fill a gap.

My offices in Cavan and Monaghan have been contacted by a number of people who are concerned about the future of the Tús scheme in particular. I need assurances from the Minister that the scheme, along with the community employment scheme and the rural social scheme, will be continued and that the repressive time limits for certain schemes will be lifted. The benefit of these schemes include giving participants a sense of purpose, re-engaging them with the workplace and ensuring essential work is carried out in communities. Many of the people who participate in the schemes can find it difficult to get into the workplace. The idea of forcing them back onto jobseekers' allowance is counter-productive. It can have a negative impact on people and would deprive communities of experienced workers who could make a valuable contribution. I call on the Minister to examine the time restrictions attached to some of the schemes in order that people can continue to participate in these essential programmes. The value is for both the individual and the local community.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Smyth for raising this important issue. I am taking this debate because the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, is detained in the Seanad.

The community employment scheme and Tús are part of the Department's range of programmes and schemes catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. They are designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work readiness, thereby improving a person's opportunities of returning to the labour market. Employment programmes are a vital service in local communities, especially throughout rural Ireland. The programmes deliver on two levels. They provide a person who is unemployed with the opportunity of work experience and to develop new skills to prepare him or her for employment in the open labour market. They also play a very important role in augmenting service delivery to local communities in key areas such as child care, health and social care, drug rehabilitation and local amenities.

All areas of the country have benefitted from these programmes. In fact, I have seen this at first hand over recent months when I visited various schemes throughout the country. As the economic recovery takes hold and the overall level of unemployment continues to fall, the need to adapt employment programmes to the changing circumstances, opportunities and the needs of jobseekers has become more apparent and urgent. With this in mind, the Department undertook an analysis of the community employment scheme, and while the primary focus was on this scheme, the review also looked at other employment programmes such as Tús. The report made a number of recommendations on the operation of these schemes.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Minister recently brought a memorandum to Government on the programmes and obtained approval to publish the review report and to progress the various recommendations. He intends to publish the review report within the next two weeks. As part of the roll-out of the new measures, the Department will consult key stakeholders in the coming weeks and implementation of the new measures will be progressed thereafter. The nature and format of the consultation process are being finalised by officials of the Department. I assure the Deputy the work being done through programmes such as the community employment scheme and Tús is highly valued and recognised by the Government. The changes to be rolled out over the coming months will strengthen the schemes and help to ensure they continue to support unemployed people and the provision of services across communities in Ireland.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State and I hope the commitment is there to strengthen and enhance the schemes and that there will be no reduction in them. I am being honest when I state rural constituencies such as Cavan-Monaghan have not seen the economic recovery about which we hear so much talk in the Chamber. It really has been the more urban areas which have been affected by it. Rural areas totally depend on such schemes and as their local authorities do not have the manpower they used to have for roads, libraries and community spaces such as playgrounds, the schemes are very important in this regard. Concerns are being raised about access to JobPath for community employment scheme participants. It appears JobPath seems to take precedence. My colleagues in Fianna Fáil and I have had huge issues involving people who have a place available on a community employment scheme and who have a genuine interest and skills to impart and use in their communities. Once they are signed up to JobPath, however, there does not seem to be any room for manoeuvre or to be able to negotiate going from one scheme to the other. This is a huge problem which needs to be dealt with.

Community employment schemes have grown to develop great social and economic benefits for our communities and we must be mindful of the impact JobPath is having on them. While the goal is to move the majority of people into full-time sustainable employment, we need to be cognisant that a one-size-fits all approach is not suitable for everybody and therefore a degree of flexibility is needed in the activation scheme, along with an awareness of the people's age, skills set, previous experience, needs and goals. Many Deputies have been contacted by people having huge difficulties because they have signed up for JobPath and wish to move to a community employment scheme but the flexibility to do this does not exist. It is a specific issue that needs to be addressed.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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The Deputy acknowledged that the unemployment rate has reduced to 6%. She spoke about County Cavan and mentioned that she has received a number of calls in recent days in this regard and this is an issue I will bring back to the Minister. She raised other points regarding infrastructure, transport and roads in rural areas and this is something about which I can speak to the Minister, Deputy Ross. I accept the importance of community employment schemes for the 37,000 people on them because it gives them a sense of purpose and I totally agree with the Deputy on this.

Even this morning, the Ministers, Deputies Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris, and I were dealing with the issue - it is not directly related but is in the same territory - of 250,000 people with disabilities receiving a social welfare, illness or disability benefit, weekly payment. We have accepted and are looking at the idea of employment for them. We have come across and examined very closely the barriers stopping them from getting involved in more meaningful employment. There is the threat of the loss of a medical card on lower earnings. Where the system does not support early intervention, the issue of overall income support for people with disabilities is very complex and people with disabilities are reluctant to lose the security provided by the social protection system. That fits in with what we are doing.

Deputy Bríd Smyth mentioned access to schemes and the need to manoeuvre. That is a very valuable point. I accept the Deputy's point that one size does not fit all when looking at schemes. I mentioned those in my area responsibility - the disabiliy sector. We have to have flexibility and be able to manoeuvre. If there are people with particular skills in certain areas, whether it be child care, the disability sector or in dealing with mental health issues, we should be looking seriously at particular projects. I will bring all of the issues raised by the Deputy back to the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar.