David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

My question relates to the Government's response to the unemployment crisis, that is, its decision to cut the funding available to community employment schemes. The grant to each individual is being cut from €1,500 to €500. Under the schemes, lone parents and those in receipt of disability payments receive partial payments, but these will also be cut. Many single parents engaged in community employment schemes want to improve their lives and those of their children and have been using the extra payment to cover child care costs. Many community and voluntary organisations depend on community employment scheme participants, for example, to provide meals on wheels, caretaking services, help with drugs projects, etc. These jobs benefit scheme participants and the community. It makes no sense, therefore, to cut the funding to community employment schemes when the rate of long-term unemployment is increasing. It makes a mockery of the Minister for finance, Deputy Michael Noonan's description of the budget as a jobs budget. It is anti-jobs, given what the Government is doing.