Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I am delighted Senator Cullinane raised this very important issue. Community employment schemes provide a very important and valued contribution to social employment, training and progression for unemployed people. Furthermore, many community employment schemes provide vital community services not only in Waterford but throughout the country.

Currently, there are 1,143 community employment schemes in operation nationally with 23,300 participants. The overall estimated budget stands at €315 million for 2012. In my constituency, for example, I am very familiar with the great work done by the Centre for Independent Living and by Blanchardstown community employment scheme.

As the Senator is aware, the Department of Social Protection has recently taken over full responsibility for community employment schemes as the previous FÁS employment services division joined the Department of Social Protection with effect from 1 January. I am delighted to have responsibility for these schemes which, like the Senator, I have a lot of personal experience of and which play such an important role in our communities, in particular by providing services which have of intrinsic social value like helping the disabled to live independently, like the example used by the Senator of Compact in Waterford city and like delivering meals on wheels, in particular to our older citizens.

This point that tends to get lost in some of the purely economic analysis of community employment schemes which views them as not delivering sufficient progression into the labour market. While it is true that many community employment schemes need to improve the manner in which they provide labour activation services, there will always be a role for schemes that are primarily directed towards the provision of crucial social services, often for disadvantaged communities which are in dire need of services like child care, elderly care and drug treatment programmes. The intrinsic social value of these schemes is not captured by conventional economic models but this is more a failing of conventional economics than of the schemes themselves. The IMF should please take note.

As Minister for Social Protection, I am determined to ensure that the contribution of such schemes is recognised in any future decisions on the future operation, funding and role of community employment. Given that this area was coming over to the Department of Social Protection for the first time, I asked for an initial review of the financial resources of all schemes to be completed in March 2012. As I said, there is a total spend on this area of €315 million. Standard templates have been developed and issued to the employment officers involved. These are the former FÁS staff who are now employment officers and civil servants in my Department. The review will be carried out between local community employment sponsors and the departmental employment officer responsible for the scheme under local management.

The discussion that will be undertaken with schemes will be conducted in a constructive manner and all support possible will be provided to help the schemes to remain viable. As I speak, employment officers are making initial contact with schemes. In addition to these local discussions, discussion and consultation with the main representative bodies and stakeholders involved in schemes will take place over the coming weeks in regard to funding.

Separately the former FÁS research unit has been asked to complete a strategic value for money review of a number of schemes administered by the Department. Community employment will be reviewed as part of this exercise. The outcome of this review will guide future policy development and is also expected to be completed by the end of March.

I am also planning a stakeholder consultation event so that I can better understand the role that community employment schemes play throughout the country and obtain the views and feedback of scheme sponsors, supervisors and participants.

The outcome of these reviews will inform the overall approach to be taken by my Department in regard to how to secure the best outcomes for the schemes and for their participants, taking account of the large amount of money we spend on community employment schemes and the valuable contribution that many of them make to their communities.

The purpose of the reviews is to examine the income and funding of sponsoring organisations in terms of their ability to continue deliver the programme. It is also being carried out in the context that there are community and voluntary sponsoring organisations that receive funding from a multiplicity of State agencies. Alternative sources of support will be examined, particularly with reference to funding from other State agencies to avoid duplication. The review will also seek to establish if income is generated by scheme activity and the potential for utilisation of these funds to cover project costs.

This is a listening Government and I have been listening carefully to the concerns raised by the community and voluntary sector about the impact that changes to the training and material grant could have on community employment schemes pending the outcome of the review. Following on from changes to the training and materials grant for community employment schemes announced in budget 2012, I made a commitment that no community employment scheme would close pending the completion of this review.

Let me be very clear about this. In the event that the changes in the training and material grant announced in the budget create financial difficulties for schemes, my Department will continue to provide funding for those schemes. In this context, I want to confirm that the funding is available in my Department to make this commitment a reality.

I would like to stress also that community employment participants can continue to avail of education and training programmes that are available to them free of charge from existing State-funded providers. This facility will also form part of the arrangements that will be developed as part of the establishment of SOLAS under the Department of Education and Skills. It was formerly the education and training wing of FÁS, which is now gone.