Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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111. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of community employment, Tús and RSS supervisors and their respective boards that were consulted about the review of these schemes undertaken by his Department recently, by county and in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36520/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a range of activation supports and programmes catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. These include programmes such as Community Employment (CE), Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Tús.

CE schemes provide part-time temporary work in their local communities, including opportunities for training and development as a stepping-stone back to employment, for people in receipt of a range of social welfare payments, including those on a long-term jobseeker’s payment. The Tús initiative is a community work placement scheme providing short-term working opportunities for unemployed people. The RSS provides income support for farmers and fisherpersons who are currently in receipt of specified social welfare payments and the scheme helps to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities.

These schemes help to break the cycle of unemployment and improve a person’s chances of returning to the labour market. My Department is also conscious of the valuable contribution the schemes are making in the provision of services to individuals and communities across Ireland.

With the ongoing welcome reductions in the live register, issues such as the appropriate level of expenditure, the number of places and the criteria for participation on employment schemes, including CE and Tús, are all being considered. In this context, an internal review has taken place and I met with my officials to discuss the outcomes of the review. I hope to be in a position to bring a Memorandum to Government on these matters in the coming weeks. If there are any changes to be made to the employment schemes, consultations with stakeholders will be facilitated at that point.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.