John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Contrary to what he said at the outset, perhaps there is hope that in future Ireland could host the Olympics. A few years ago, one of my own party colleagues raised this issue when he was lord mayor of Dublin. We should never say "Never" as regards such matters.

Turning to my Adjournment matter, I seek the removal of the existing three-year cap on community employment schemes. I expect that in his response the Minister of State will outline the existing situation whereby people can extend that period to six years if they are over a particular age limit. However, there is a strong case to be made for the complete removal of the cap. Senators are involved in various community activities and will be familiar with the role of community employment schemes in providing important services. Many local voluntary organisations would not be able to function properly were it not for the efforts of people working on community employment schemes. The schemes provide a level of self-esteem and self-confidence for participants who might otherwise be unemployed. A small amount of money is involved in running these schemes over and above what would be spent by the Government on social welfare payments to such people if they were not participating in the schemes.

Numerous studies and surveys have highlighted that people over the age of 50 have more difficulty gaining employment. If their skills range is not wide, this difficulty can be exacerbated. For example, a man aged 63 years in my locality has served six years on a community employment scheme and he has been asked to leave, which is ridiculous. He will reach retirement age in two years and he has provided a valuable service in the local community. It would cost the Government virtually nothing to retain him on the scheme but he has been told he must leave.

The current system is too rigid. The Government is all about encouraging people to become more involved in their local communities and voluntary organisations but many of these organisations would not function properly without the effort, help and support of CE schemes. That may not have been the original intention behind them but they play a vital role and it is important that the Government and the Minister of State should acknowledge this reality. The prospect of future employment for people aged over 55 years who are on these schemes is limited. A compelling case can be made for the abolition of the current cap.

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The FÁS community employment, CE, scheme is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed term basis. Community employment helps unemployed people to re-enter the open labour market by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a work routine and assisting them to enhance both their technical and personal skills.

The CE programme was restructured in 1999 to limit participation by new participants to three years with effect from April 2000. This change was introduced to encourage unemployed persons to progress to training or education and employment options where possible. This three-year cap was amended in August 2001 to allow particularly disadvantaged persons to remain on the programme for a further period. In general, approximately 20% of participants, including persons aged under 55, have benefited from an additional year on the programme under the flexibility guidelines introduced in August 2001.

In November 2004, to cater for older workers, the three-year CE cap was revised to allow those aged 55 and over to avail of a six-year period on CE based on participation since 3 April 2000. This was introduced in recognition of the fact that older participants may find it more difficult to progress into the open labour market. In July 2006 my Department published its sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005, one of the key highlights of which is to increase participation rates of people with disabilities on CE over the period of the plan. To provide additional training to assist progression to employment for people with disabilities under 55 years of age, the participation limit has been raised by one year from three to four years, and for people with disabilities over 55 years of age, the participation limit has also been raised by one year from six to seven years. The upper age limit for CE participants is 65 years.

FÁS continues to develop the content of the CE programme. The new approach involves the introduction of an "Individual Learner Planning Process" which focuses on meeting the learning needs of participants. The individual learner plan provides for the planning, organising and recording of the work experience, training and development each participant receives while working on CE. It also includes further training and development for supervisors, a new application process and quality assurance procedures.

Under this individualised approach, FÁS has proposed four new FETAC awards relevant to both CE and job initiative, JI, learners including a certificate in personal and social employment skills — level 3; a certificate in vocational employment skills — level 3; a certificate of applied employment skills — level 4; and a certificate in specific employment skills — level 5. These new awards will facilitate all the planned learning completed on CE or JI by each participant being rolled up into the achievement of a FETAC award. This will provide added value to the learner and will support their progression on to further training or employment.

Funding for CE in 2007 was provided with a view to maintaining overall numbers on FÁS schemes. More than 22,000 people are employed on CE schemes nationally. In delivering these places, FÁS operates flexibly in the management of this allocation to maximise progression to the labour market while at the same time facilitating the support of community services. This provision of places is managed through a standardised application process between regional FÁS offices and local sponsor and community organisations, and issues regarding the allocation of places are dealt with in this context.

It should be remembered, however, that where participants remain on CE, they preclude someone else from benefiting from the programme. FÁS makes every effort to ensure differing levels of demand between neighbouring schemes are equalised. FÁS also operates the programme flexibly as far as possible to ensure the continuation of community projects. I am advised by the organisation that it is currently unaware of CE projects that cannot fill vacancies owing to the six-year cap for those aged over 55 years.

The Government will continue to support into the future the positive role of CE in meeting the needs of long-term unemployed people while, at the same time, providing essential services to communities. In this regard, we are keeping the operation of the scheme under constant review.

John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)
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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.

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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I will bring the Senator's comments to the attention of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment who has responsibility for FÁS schemes.