Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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573. To ask the Minister for Social Protection his plans to extend the length of time a person can remain on a community employment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41625/16]

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. This includes programmes such as Community Employment (CE).

As the Deputy will be aware, 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.

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.

A person’s participation period on CE reflects the length of time they have been unemployed, their age and previous time spend on CE. The participation limits are in place to ensure that as many unemployed people as possible are able to benefit from the scheme and it is considered to be optimal in meeting the scheme’s objectives.

If a CE sponsor is experiencing particular recruitment difficulties, they should contact their local DSP office with any concerns they may have in that regard.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.