Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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275. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on a community employment scheme (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51486/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Work Schemes such as Community Employment (CE) are positive initiatives that enable long-term unemployed to make a contribution to their communities whilst upskilling themselves for prospective future employment. However it is important to note that participation on these schemes is intended to be for a temporary fixed-term and the positions offered are not full-time sustainable jobs. Participation limits are set on these schemes to allow for the maximum utilisation of places amongst qualifying persons.

The welcome increase in the number of people at work and the continued reduction in Live Register numbers is a factor in recruitment to all work programmes. In this regard, the Department has implemented a number of changes to the terms and conditions of participation on CE, the purpose of which is to broaden the availability to a greater number of people on the Live Register and to standardise other conditions around the length of time a person can participate on a programme.

The Department is very mindful of the large number of work programme places involved in service delivery and other valuable services around the country. In this regard if any scheme is experiencing particular recruitment difficulties, they should contact their local Department Intreo Centre for assistance.