John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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164. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to relax the eligibility criteria for entry to a community employment scheme, with particular reference to persons under 25 years of age; if persons signing for credits will have their time considered in the context of qualifying for community employment; if persons under 35 years of age will qualify for three years on a scheme; if persons in the age category of 55 years of age plus will be allowed to continue on a scheme until their retirement age; if she will review the targets for full-time employment and education of 40% and apply a more flexible, fairer system taking the diversity of issues facing individual schemes into account; if funding for the achievement of individual major awards will be set as the real cost of €2,000 per award; if the top-up of €20 for scheme participants will be substantially increased; and if those signing on after the completion of a scheme will qualify for a basic benefit payment rather than a payment based on earnings, which has proven to be unfair. [40529/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy has raised a number of issues relating to Community Employment (CE) in this Question and the responses are set out below.

(i) Persons under 25 years - relaxing CE eligibility

The general minimum age criterion of 25 for CE has been set to ensure that, in the first instance, younger jobseekers engage with the range of Further Education and Training (FET) provision already in place for persons of school leaving age and beyond. CE is considered to be at the high support end on the continuum of provision for long-term unemployed and other vulnerable groups who are very distant from the labour market. However, there is limited provision for vulnerable groups (e.g. persons with a disability, Travellers, refugees, referred drug misusers, ex-offenders) who can access CE at 18 years of age.

(ii) Persons Signing for Credits

Persons signing for credits are not eligible for CE as one of the main qualifying conditions is that a person must be in receipt of an actual welfare payment e.g. Jobseeker's Allowance. There are no plans to relax this requirement.

(iii) Duration of participation on CE

Under the CE Part-Time Integration Option, persons aged between 25 and 35 years and one year unemployed, qualify for 1 year participation on CE with an option for extension for 10% of participants on a scheme.

However, it should be noted that in the past 2 years, the Department has introduced a special programme for participants entering CE to work on schemes providing early childhood services. A similar programme is being introduced for participants entering social care services. The conditions of participation for these groups have been adjusted to accommodate participants engaging in FETAC Major Awards at Level 5 which is the basic entry requirement to employment in these sectors. CE participants on these schemes are permitted to remain for up to a maximum of 3 years continuous participation, on annually renewable contracts and subject to satisfactory engagement in the completion of training and work practice. These conditions apply to all CE participants in these streams.

(iv) Participation of persons 55 years of age on CE

The current criteria for participants aged 55 and over allows for a maximum cumulative duration on CE of 6 years (7 years if they were in receipt of a disability payment, inclusive of any time spent on CE while aged under 55). If persons were allowed to remain on CE from 55 years to retirement age, this would mean a participation rate of 10 years which would be very much at odds with the recommendations from OECD and others which highlight that shorter duration schemes (1-2 years) are more beneficial for getting people back into mainstream employment. This is particularly relevant in the Irish context where unemployment has fallen substantially from a peak of over 15% to 10% and continues to fall as employment grows. The further extension of duration on CE for persons 55 years and over is not seen as tenable and can lead to a ‘locked-in’effect for these participants. I am, however, keeping this issue under review.

(v) Progression rates for CE participants

The 40% combined progression target for those exiting a CE scheme into employment or further education/training is based on the aggregated average progression figure for CE overall. In a time of a growing economy this target, while challenging for some schemes, is considered achievable for the programme overall. While the progression rate will vary according to a variety of factors e.g. geographic location, participant profile, these factors are taken into account by the Department. Given the level of investment by the Exchequer in CE (budget of €373m in 2015), the Deputy will appreciate that it is very important that value for money is achieved and I believe that the best return is the placement of unemployed persons in jobs.

(vi) Funding of training on CE

The provision of training is a key factor in the preparation for employment for CE participants. For many, this provides a real opportunity to pursue a qualification that may lead to employment. The annual budget for training on CE for 2015 is €6.1m which is an increase on the previous year of approximately €1m. In addition to this, significant training and education is provided by the Education and Training Boards at no charge to the Department.There is a procurement system in place for schemes for the procuring of training and the costs vary depending on the type of training and duration. If schemes are experiencing pressure on the training budget, they should discuss this with their local DSP Intreo Centre.

(vii) Increase in CE participant allowance

The weekly CE participant top-up is increasing from €20 to €22.50 in January 2016, bringing the CE minimum weekly payment to €210.50.

(viii) Completion of CE - benefit payment

An individual who completes a CE Scheme may qualify for an insurance-based social welfare payment such as jobseeker’s benefit (JB) provided they satisfy the eligibility conditions. To qualify for JB, an individual must have at least 104 weeks PRSI paid since they first started work and 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year or 26 weeks PRSI paid in the relevant tax year and 26 weeks PRSI paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year. The current relevant tax year is 2013. This means that an individual who has completed a CE scheme, provided they satisfy these eligibility criteria, may qualify for JB. If a person is only entitled to a reduced rate of JB, they may instead claim jobseeker’s allowance, which is a means-tested payment.