Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 126: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the process in place to enable community employment schemes to take on a new member in view of the fact that all new appointments have to be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16616/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Community Employment (CE) 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. CE helps unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a work routine and to assist them to enhance/develop both their technical and personal skills.

The CE programme is sponsored by groups wishing to benefit the local community, namely voluntary organisations and public bodies involved in not-for-profit activities.

Community Employment participants and supervisors are employed by the local community sponsors, who are separate legal entities under the Companies Act and, as such, sanction for their recruitment by the Minister for Finance is not required.

The Government Decision of 27/3/09 in respect of Implementation of Savings Measures for Public Service numbers does not relate to participants or supervisors on Community Employment Schemes.