Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 201: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position regarding the regulations on eligibility for community employment schemes and, in particular, the reason persons who take up a week's work during a period of unemployment should be adversely affected; if she will examine such rules; if the negative message that such rules send is appropriate in today's different circumstances; and if the matter can be examined with a view to changing rules and making them fairer. [31029/09]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, 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 (including those with a disability) with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a fixed term basis. CE helps long-term 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. To facilitate some short-term employment opportunities, breaks off the live register up to 30 days in total are permissible within the 12-month eligibility period, while still maintaining eligibility for CE.

The reason for the 30-day live register break rule is to ensure that the programme responds to its primary target group of long term unemployed clients. Many unemployed people engage in work of a temporary nature. If the programme were open to these individuals, there is a danger that people would leave their employment, albeit of a temporary nature, in order to participate in Community Employment. This would be contrary to the objective of the programme and result in a Labour Market Intervention competing with the open labour market. In circumstances where breaks off the live register exceed 30 days, other interventions may be more appropriate than CE in these instances.

CE still remains as an active labour market programme with the emphasis on progression into employment. The programme is managed within this context, with consideration to the availability of resources and the needs of participants and the community. This Government will continue to support the positive role of CE in meeting the needs of long-term unemployed persons while at the same time providing essential services to communities. I am keeping the operation of the Scheme under constant review in the context of the current difficult unemployment situation.