Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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574. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider changing the rules for participation in community employment schemes in order that persons 55 years of age may continue to participate in a scheme until retirement if they fail to secure alternative employment in view of the review of community employment scheme eligibility criteria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20015/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, Community Employment (CE) is a labour market activation programme which helps long-term unemployed people (those 12 months or more in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment) and other disadvantaged groups to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine. The programme assists participants to enhance and develop skills which can then be used in the workplace.

A pilot initiative was announced in December 2015 to enable those aged 62 or over to extend their participation beyond the standard maximum participation limits (currently set at 6 years cumulative lifetime participation for those aged 55 or over) providing the eligibility conditions are met. Participants are allowed to participate on a continuous basis up to the State Pension age, subject to satisfactory performance on the scheme and to annual approval by the Department. The places allocated for these participants within each individual CE scheme are limited to 7% of each scheme’s overall budgeted places.

Following the recent publication of my Department’s report An Analysis of the Community Employment Programme, I signalled my intention to review the rules governing the participation of older people on schemes. This review will take place within the next 3 months.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.