Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will change the criteria for qualification for community enterprise schemes to accommodate individuals over the age of 65 years who wish to participate in same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8186/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I understand that the Deputy is referring to the community services programme (CSP) which is funded by my Department. The CSP is designed to address locally identified gaps in the provision of services and to exploit the potential of community assets and resources to improve community well-being. CSP support is designed in such a manner that service providers are required to offer employment opportunities to people from specific target groups. The target group includes people with disabilities, Travellers, recovering drug users, persons who are long-term unemployed and lone parents. A person over the age of 65 years of age is ineligible for support from the programme.

Not all persons employed by a CSP supported service provider are funded by the programme and in such circumstances the criteria to engage persons under 65 do not apply. In general, my Department would encourage service providers to offer employment opportunities to those most in need of work and not in receipt of other income by way of pensions or other part-time work. The programme supports an estimated 2,700 people in some 450 service providers across the State. The programme is not designed to cover the full operating costs of supported service providers. A key requirement of the programme is that each service provider must develop non-public forms of income generation by way of charging fees, trading or fund-raising.