It is important to facilitate constructive consultation with the key community groups involved as they are in the best position to advise on the most appropriate way forward. We must recognise the need to sustain critical community services currently funded by community employment schemes, for example, the sustained support for child care services. Such services are essential if the most vulnerable people in society are to be in a position to take up a job, attend further education courses or get education in the first instance. We have a responsibility to ensure that people who are not able to participate in the labour market for one reason or another are not affected by the current correction taking place in the economy. The emphasis needs to be on social capital and the benefits these schemes, when run effectively and productively, have for the communities in which they operate.