John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

The Minister of State's response and the details he outlined regarding the FETAC awards are clear but the six-year cap is arbitrary. The cap could be two or ten years. I acknowledge the Minister's comment about FÁS being unaware of CE schemes that cannot fill vacancies owing to the cap. I am concerned about this issue not from the point of view of FÁS but from the point of view of someone aged 61 or 62 years. For the sake of the €20 per week it costs the State to retain people on the CE scheme, they should be retained. Given reviews are ongoing, people aged over 55 years, in particular, should be considered.