Written answers
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Department of Social Protection
Community Employment Schemes Places
Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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152. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her view of the fact that large numbers of community employment projects shall be in danger of closure over the next year due to being unable to fill the vacancies now occurring due in large part to the extreme capping restriction now imposed by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44318/14]
Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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At the end of October 2014, there were 22,815 community employment (CE) participants (excluding supervisors) engaged on the programme, an overall increase of 1,009 participants from October 2013. The breakdown of the 22,815 places is:
| Community Employment Schemes | Breakdown |
|---|---|
| 18,706 Jobseekers (JA/JB) | 82.0% |
| 1,215 Lone Parents/Widows | 5.3% |
| 1,886 Disability | 8.3% |
| 1,008 Others (e.g. ex-prisoners) | 8.3% |
The Department is doing its utmost to enable the CE sponsors to recruit sufficient candidates for any vacancies arising.
The existing participation limits for CE are in place to ensure that all eligible persons have the opportunity to participate on the programme. The limits (introduced in April, 2000) are 3 years participation for those under 55 years of age and up to 6 years participation for those of 55 years of age to state pension age. Persons in receipt of disability-related social welfare payments on entering CE may avail of one additional year on top of these limits bringing the duration up to 4 years and 7 years respectively.
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