Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

People have also been in contact with me regarding community employment schemes. It is hard to believe that only a few months ago we were talking about full employment and labour activation schemes for women who may have chosen to rear their children and for whom it is difficult to get back into the workplace. The former Minister, Senator Regina Doherty, was working on returnships. Community employment schemes are for people on the live register. They are not for women who may have chosen to be at home for a period of time and are not on jobseeker's allowance. However, such women, who would have reared their children in the area, are perfect for a community centre. The community centres I deal with have stated that they would love to have mothers work for them, but they could not get them and could not get people when we were at full employment. I ask the Minister to look at that specifically and allow women returners to work not just in corporate returnships but in their communities where they might be comfortable for a year.