Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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276. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the detail of the community employment scheme launched in December 2015 on a pilot basis which gave persons 62 years of age and over the option of participating on the scheme until they reach the State pension age of 66 years; if the scheme will be continued following this pilot; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25439/17]

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. It is designed to be a temporary fixed-term activation intervention. The programme assists participants to enhance and develop their skills, competencies and confidence to enable them to compete for jobs in the open market.

CE is open to participants aged up to 65 years of age who meet the current eligibility criteria. 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 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 within the next three months. The over-62 pilot will be considered in that context.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.