John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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263. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will give her estimation of the success of the Tús work placement initiative since its implementation four years ago; her plans to extend the placement period beyond one year; if it is still considered that the implementation of this initiative, and others like it, is not an exercise in manipulation of the national unemployment figures in view of the fact that participants, though still paid by her Department, are no longer considered dependent on social welfare and are not reflected in the national unemployed figures; her views that particular groups calling for the cessation of such initiatives and programmes, on the basis that they exploit the unemployed and allow sometimes unscrupulous employers take advantage of the long-term unemployed, are not without foundation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15446/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Tús, the community work placement initiative introduced during 2011, was set up to provide short-term, work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. This initiative is being delivered through the network of local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta. Tús is designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work readiness thereby improving a person’s opportunities in returning to the labour market.

The duration of the Tús contract was set to reflect a number of inter-related elements. These include the need to ensure that the numbers of placements available are open to those on the live register, that weaknesses identified in other work programmes resulting from longer duration placements are not replicated in Tús, optimisation of the resources available, and to ensure that Tús fits with the objectives set out in the Government’s activation policies in Pathways to Work.

This approach ensures that as many people as possible who are unemployed for over 12 months are able to benefit from the initiative. There are no circumstances under which a participant’s term on Tús will be extended beyond 12 months and I consider the existing 12-month period on the scheme to be adequate to meet the programme’s objectives. As of the week ending 17th April 2015, there were 7,952 participants on Tús. Some 25,194 participants have commenced employment on Tús since its commencement to date, including those currently on the scheme.

I disagree with the Deputy’s assertion that the use of schemes such as Tús, community employment, Gateway, back to education and back to work allowance are being used to manipulate the national unemployment figures. The Deputy should note that the Central Statistics Office publish data on the participation levels on these schemes as part of the monthly live register report in a transparent and open fashion. There is full recognition that these schemes provide a short-term response to the unemployment crisis and that work a resurgent economy will provide employment opportunities. These programmes, and others such as JobsPlus, help to ensure that the longer-term unemployed are in a position to avail of arising opportunities.

It is regrettable that the Deputy should misrepresent the efforts of employers in the community and voluntary sector, who provide work placement opportunities under Tús and Community Employment, as exploiting the unemployed and as unscrupulous employers. He fails to recognise the enormous commitment and effort of volunteers working to improve the communities across the country and the standard of employer engagement and support required when dealing with jobseekers that may have been out of the workforce for prolonged periods of time.