John Whelan (Labour)

I thank the Minister for coming in because I realise how busy she is. I am conscious of the hours of work she has put into resolving the outstanding issues surrounding the community employment schemes. This Adjournment matter offers the chance to debunk any scare-mongering that has taken place about doubts surrounding the Minister's own personal commitment to the community employment scheme model and the Government's commitment to those schemes. My concerns, as set out in my question to the Minister, are that there are more than 23,300 workers employed in 1,270 community employment schemes country-wide, all carrying out valuable work, training and labour activation activities.

The budget in December caused some consternation for many of the schemes because it was proposed initially that there would be a 66% cut in materials grants for the schemes, which would have rendered many of them inoperative and unsustainable. The Minister, to give credit where it is due, initiated a review of that and embarked on a wide ranging review of the operation and funding of the schemes.

It is universally accepted that one size does not fit all, that not all schemes are the same and they do not all require the same funding or training modules. The review was initiated as far back as January. Half the year has since passed and the initial report was due at the end of March. A considerable period has passed where many of the schemes, their workers, supervisors and sponsors have been operating in limbo and they have not had much clarity on the funding model.

This evening I urge the Minister to assist us in this regard. It is imminent and the Minister has been pressing for this to be brought to a conclusion. I ask her to indicate to us this evening when we can expect the review to be concluded and what its determination will be so the schemes can proceed in a vigorous and sustainable fashion. In Laois, a total of 17 viable schemes employ more than 300 people. Like everyone else country-wide, they want to know where they stand so they can get on with their work.