Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Community employment schemes offer people significant opportunities in terms of experience and getting back to work and they also offer a considerable benefit to the communities in which they are located in terms of the services they provide. It has been drawn to my attention by people involved in scheme, both at administrative level and participants in it that the manner in which CE schemes are being managed currently is making it very difficult to match up those offering positions with people who want to fill the positions. The main difficulty is the manner in which the positions are advertised and in particular the manner in which applicants are to apply.

It is my view that the changes introduced in recent years fail to understand the nature and value of community employment schemes. They undermine the intended outcome, in particular in terms of giving people work experience, reintroducing people to work, and adding to the value of community projects and associations who find excellent uses for people on the schemes, that are of value to both employee and employer.

In particular, I draw attention to the fact that all scheme supervisors must now advertise each position that becomes available on the Intreo website. Any applicant interested in a position, who wants to take part in a community employment scheme must register with Intreo and apply online for each position. While generally there is a certain sense to online advertisement of positions in terms of transparency the specific context of the scheme has to be taken into account. My concern, which is shared by many CE supervisors, is that many of the people who would potentially benefit from community employment schemes, who might have been out of employment for a considerable period, will not register or apply and will not be aware of the opportunity which may exist. The reality is that a considerable proportion of people who seek employment in a community employment scheme have problems with literacy skills or have limited IT skills. CE schemes give people the opportunity to return to work, perhaps after a period out of work, and to gain skills and experience. That is invaluable to them and allows them to get further work.

The work involved in CE schemes is extraordinary. Requiring applicants to register in the manner I outlined is a hurdle which will put many people off applying for schemes, and will also mean that they are unaware of the opportunities that exists. That is discrimination against people without the necessary literacy skills, and potentially against older people. Just as significantly, many supervisors are finding that very few are registering or applying online, and because they are restricted in terms of other ways to get the word out, positions are going unfilled for extended periods, which undermines the projects and the work they do. I urge the Minister to give the issue serious consideration and to change the system so that the CE scheme is not allowed to be downgraded or undermined, that people can continue to benefit, and the schemes can find people who want to be involved. We should take every opportunity to join up those who wish to work, and those who wish to employ them and not to make it harder, as has been the case in recent times.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this important issue concerning community employment schemes. The aim of the community employment programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities.

The programme helps to break the cycle of unemployment and improve a person's chances of returning to the labour market. That is the objective. Community employment scheme sponsors advertise vacancies free-of-charge on the Department's www.jobsireland.iewebsite. Posting vacancies is a relatively simple process and a dedicated video tutorial is available on the site to assist sponsors. Anyone requiring further assistance can contact the Department's national contact centre by telephone at lo call 1890 800 024 and (01) 248 1398 or by email at jobsireland@welfare.ie. It is important that this information is available for the many people who are interested in these schemes.

Sponsors can also promote scheme vacancies within their local communities. At a local level, various methods of promoting CE scheme vacancies have been arranged between the Department and local CE scheme operators, including targeting potentially eligible jobseekers for attendance at a CE job fair, where details of CE scheme vacancies and employment opportunities are provided.

No recent changes have been made to the recruitment and applications procedures for CE schemes. Jobseekers receive information about all available employment support options, including CE, through the Intreo service. Jobseekers receive one-to-one support from a case officer and all available and suitable options are discussed. Jobseekers can view CE vacancies online at www.jobsireland.ieas well. Eligible candidates are referred to sponsors by case officers in their local Intreo centres. I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

My experience of the Intreo offices is very positive, especially in respect of the disability sector. Over 60 people are trained in our social welfare offices throughout the country and provide an important service in respect of my personal portfolio. The role of the community employment scheme is important. The idea is to train people with the objective of securing a more reasonable job.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with what the Minister of State has outlined as the function and value of the community employment scheme. To an extent, this boils down to common sense. We are forcing people to jump through hoops that should be unnecessary. We are making it far more difficult to connect people who want to work and participate in the scheme with those who want to give such people a job. I call on the Minister of State to reflect on this and bring back my message to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Doherty. The scheme could have a position available that could be advertised locally. Someone could contact the provider of the job in question. Yet, someone who might have been out of work for two or three years may not be given a chance on a community employment scheme. At the moment, the person seeking the opportunity must spot the vacancy online and apply for it online. The context of the CE scheme has to be borne in mind at all times. Some people have had difficulty in getting work for a significant period. They may have literacy skills, they may be older or they may have limited computer skills. It is unreasonable, impractical and inflexible to force everything to go through the online process. It should be possible to advertise the positions online but it should also be possible to make the provider and employers use other means, whether advertising locally or whatever, to fill positions and to offer such positions to people who want to work.

Part of the problem is that positions are now becoming available but no one is applying for them or filling them. I have been informed of this from those responsible for projects in my area and from talking to supervisors who maintain the problem is coming up in other areas as well. The problem is that candidates are not aware the positions exist and they have no knowledge of how to apply for them. People can go to the Intreo offices and be walked through it, but that is a slow and laborious process for every application. It is simply unreasonable. I believe it is holding people back from getting jobs in the community employment scheme.

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I take the points made by Deputy Ó Laoghaire on the need for more information. If there is a CE scheme experience with particular difficulties in recruitment, the sponsor should contact the local Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection offices to enable the matter to be reviewed.

It is important to know that there are 1,422 CE vacancies advertised on www.jobsireland.ieat present. These schemes are designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work-readiness, thereby improving a person's opportunity of returning to the labour market.

A second point is important. International evidence does not advocate long-term dependency programmes. While researchers accept the role of such programmes in times of high unemployment, they advise that prevalence should be reduced as unemployment falls and employment prospects grow. Some of the evidence points to longer-duration interventions being prone to locking unemployed people into programmes rather than engaging them in active jobs.

Those aged between 21 years and 55 years are entitled to one year on the scheme with the potential to extend the period to two years. Those over 55 years can remain on the scheme for three years.

The schemes make a contribution, but now that we have unemployment down to 6% it is a developing situation. In any event, I will bring back the issues raised by Deputy Ó Laoghaire to the Minister, Deputy Doherty.