Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his kind words. I am delighted to be back in the House and I appreciate the kind words.

As Senator Coghlan well knows, community employment, CE, is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed term basis. Community employment helps unemployed people to re-enter the open labour market by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a work routine and to assist them to enhance and develop both their technical and personal skills.

To cater for older workers in particular, in November 2004 the Department revised the three year community employment cap to allow those aged 55 years and over to avail of a six-year period on community employment — based on participation since 2000. This was introduced in recognition of the fact that older participants may find it more difficult to progress into the open labour market.

In July 2006 my Department published its sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005. One of the key highlights of this plan is to increase participation rates of people with disabilities in community employment over the period of the plan and to raise the community employment participation limits for people with disabilities, in order to provide additional training to assist progression to open labour market employment. For people with disabilities under 55, the participation limit has been raised by one year from three to four years and for people with disabilities over 55, the participation limit has also been raised by one year from six to seven years. The upper age limit for community employment participants is 65 years.

FÁS is continuing to develop the content of the CE programme. The new approach involves the introduction of the individual learner planning process. This is focusing on meeting the learning needs of participants. The individual learner plan is providing for the planning, organising and recording of the work experience, training and development that each participant receives while working on community employment. It also includes further training and development for supervisors, a new application process and quality assurance procedures.

Under this individualised approach FÁS has proposed four new FETAC awards relevant to both community employment and job initiative, JI, learners. These include certificate in personal and social employment skills, level three; certificate in vocational employment skills, level three; certificate of applied employment skills, level four; and certificate in specific employment skills, level five. These new awards will facilitate all the planned learning completed on community employment or job initiative by each participant being rolled up into achievement of a FETAC award. This will provide added value to the learner and will support his or her progression onto further training or employment.

Funding for community employment in 2007 has been provided with a view to maintaining overall numbers on FÁS schemes at 2006 levels. This is important. At present, there are over 22,000 people employed on community employment schemes nationally. In delivering these places, FÁS operates flexibly in the management of this allocation in order to maximise progression to the labour market while at the same time facilitating the support of community services.

However, it should be remembered that in so far as participants remain on community employment, they are precluding someone else from benefiting from the programme. We are trying to develop a churn situation where people progress on to the open labour market and somebody else who is on long-term unemployment moves into a community employment scheme or job initiative. This is something that we all are trying to foster. We are trying to ensure that the programme delivers and allows people to move into the open labour market.

FÁS is committed to ensuring that there is a sponsorship programme in community organisations and if there are deficiencies in certain areas, then that will be looked at. The Government will continue to support into the future the positive role of community employment in meeting the needs of long-term unemployed persons while at the same time providing essential services to communities. In this regard, we are keeping the operation of the scheme under constant review.

Senator Coghlan strongly supports community employment. I recall raising this issue myself previously on a number of occasions. Nobody wants to see a person on a community employment scheme in the long term if he or she could move into the open labour market but, equally, I accept that there are some at certain ages who will find it difficult trying to secure work in the open labour market.

FÁS continually reviews this scheme in conjunction with the Department to ensure that it is flexible and that there is a churn of people into the schemes and on to full-time employment.