Seanad debates
Tuesday, 25 March 2003
Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed).
I realise that the community employment scheme does not fall within the Minister's remit. However, it is not that far removed in that many of the beneficiaries of the CE schemes were recipients of social assistance in one form or another. The progressive scaling back of the scheme has hit the voluntary sector hard. Together with the abolition of the student summer jobs scheme, it takes the backbone out of many needy and beneficial initiatives. I ask the Minister to look again at her own scheme and perhaps consult with her colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to reinstate and reinvigorate the community employment schemes.
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