Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38115/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Community Employment is an employment and training programme which helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a work routine. The programme assists by enhancing and developing a person's technical and personal skills which can then be used in the workplace.

The criteria for participating on community employment are based on age and length of time in receipt of various social protection payments. There are two options under which community employment can be accessed. In general, a person must be aged 25 or over to access community employment although some exceptions exist where a person is in receipt of disability-related payments, is a member of the Traveller community, a refugee or a young person recovering from drug misuse.

I have no proposals to amend the criteria until I have had the opportunity to undertake a broader review of community employment which I have already indicated I wish to undertake. Any review of community employment will have to examine the current eligibility and access criteria, including how community employment can be more effectively deployed to tackle youth unemployment.