I wish to advise the House of a number of developments which are in train and which will have an important bearing on the future scale and type of community employment activity. FÁS is currently undertaking an internal review of community employment which will include an assessment of the role of community employment both from a labour market perspective and taking account of the provision of community services. The Programme for Prosperity and Fairness mandated review of active labour market programmes is also being progressed under the aegis of the standing committee on the labour market, chaired by my Department. This review is being facilitated by a report by Indecon consultants on the effectiveness of existing active labour market programmes, which is now being finalised. A key focus of this report relates to the reorientation of programmes, including the development of the training component of the community employment programme, so that the collective focus will be on the needs of the most marginalised and disadvantaged groups to ensure the emphasis is on progression to the open labour market and is relevant to its needs. Policy in regard to the participation of older persons on community employment will also form an important part of the review process.