Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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204. To ask the Minister for Social Protection in view of the outstanding performance of the disability activation project also know as Project DAWN in the Roscommon Disability Support Group DALE Centre, Derrane, County Roscommon, in exceeding its targets in the first seven month of operation, if she will make provision for the extension of European Social Fund co-funding beyond April 2015, thereby preventing the negative impact the project's termination would have on its 170 participants, their families, and the six employees who will lose their jobs and their families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8071/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The project to which the Deputy refers is one of 14 Disability Activation Projects (DACT), which are being jointly funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Department. The DACT projects commenced at the end of 2012 and will end on 30 April 2015, as the ESF portion of the funding was provided under the Human Capital Investment Operational Programme 2007- 2013 and this programme has recently come to an end.

There is therefore no provision for ESF co-funding arrangements to continue beyond the end of April next. This position was recently communicated to the individual projects and it was pointed out that the terms of the grant agreement with each DACT project stipulated that the project must be delivered and completed by the end of April this year.

I very much welcomed and supported the setting up of these projects as they set out to explore a variety of routes towards ensuring that people with disabilities are enabled to avail of progression, education and development opportunities within the world of work. However, the projects were not intended to become ongoing service delivery organisations.

The Department has now commissioned an independent evaluation of the projects and a key part of this evaluation will be to identify from the projects what works with regard to increasing the capacity and potential of people on disability/illness welfare payments to participate in the labour market, and which of those are capable, where appropriate, of being mainstreamed in the delivery of supports to people with disabilities in the future. In the meantime, the Department is considering the position of those people who will still be participating in the projects at the end of April.